Christ Church has announced the opening of its new ‘Longhorn Café’, a temporary take-away coffee shop for college members and the local community, as social restrictions continue to ease.
Named after the beautiful, rare cattle which live in the Christ Church Meadow, the Longhorn Café is set within the Visitor Centre and is accessed through the shop. The café offers a wide range of food and beverages, many of which are produced in the Christ Church College kitchen, including freshly made baguettes and cakes, as well as coffees, teas, hot chocolate, soft drinks and wine.
The barista-style quality coffee is supplied by a local family-owned business ‘The Oxford Coffee Company’, which uses ethically sourced beans from around the world.
Picnic blankets are available for sale in the shop as well as a ‘Ploughman’s picnic box’, which includes a range of sweet and savoury foods that can be ordered in advance online at chch.ox.ac.uk/shop-cafe.
Staff at the Visitor Centre are also offering a seasonal tour of Christ Church Meadow that provides an enjoyable few hours of peace and quiet away from the bustling city to learn about the Meadow’s history, conservation, and planting schemes. See
chch.ox.ac.uk/events/all/visitors-and-tourists
Pauline Linières-Hartley, Steward at Christ Church, commenting on the opening of the café, said, “It has been wonderful to see many people from the local community visiting the Longhorn Café over the last couple of weeks.
“We hope that as the weather improves, many more will take the opportunity to picnic on the Meadow with our freshly produced food and drinks. So far, the cheese and tomato baguette and the Blondie have proved to be favourites!
“The opening of the café has also been an exciting time for the Christ Church Hall and Kitchen staff, and I’d like to thank them for all their hard work in making this project come to life.”
Although the main college site remains closed, Christ Church is currently offering a virtual tour of the College and Cathedral. The virtual tour provides a unique opportunity to hear about the history and current life of Christ Church, to see its buildings, and to meet some of the people who live and work there. Christ Church is hoping to reintroduce in-person tours from 05 July, in line with government guidelines.
For more information about the virtual tours and to book tickets online, visit chch.ox.ac.uk/virtual-tours.
