You’ve maybe noticed that Belfast is turning pink in 2014… The Giro D’Italia is coming to town for three days (9th-11th May) and two of them (9th and 10th) start right here in the Titanic Quarter.  We’re expecting massive crowds, loads of excitement, many many people on bicycles (I’ve even been inspired to extricate my rusty old Dawes from the shed) and lots of pink (the symbol of the Giro is the pink jersey – a la the yellow jersey in the Tour De France):

Make sure you call at The Dock in the middle of it all – we’ll be there with all the tea, coffee and buns in the world, pop-up markets galore, and loads of info about what’s happening and where.  And if you’re on two wheels, remember that The Dock has a handy railing to which you can chain your trusty steed while you refuel!

1.  The new sand-and-lacquer floor is now ultra-ultra-ultra-grippy!

2.  You now know what’s going on.

(We’d noticed a lot of new customers doing a dance of confusion and befuddlement on the ramp at the entrance as they tried to figure out how this strange cafe-that’s-not-really-a-cafe works.  Now they know!)

3.  The best little room in Belfast just got even better – it now includes a baby-changing table!

4.  Our latest artwork exhibition features fabulous old shipyard designs which we found in rusty metal drawers in a far-off corner in the unrestored part of the beautiful H&W Drawing Offices.  The skill and intricacy of each schematic is pure art – even though we don’t know what a Comyn Condensate De-Oiler (Automatic Type) might be!  Come in soon for a closer look – they really are spectacular

5.  There’s a new ‘best seat in the house’:

Leather armchairs…
recliners…
in a quiet corner of the cafe…
sun streaming through the window…
best view in Titanic Quarter…
an antique shipyard thingamabob to rest your cup on…
What’s not to love!

6.  Rest your mug on a piece of history!

There are now even more tables, furniture and benches rescued from the H&W Drawing Office and lovingly restored by Dock volunteers – so you might be resting your coffee mug on a table that once was used to design ships:

And the best thing of all about the new Dock Cafe is that it’s finally OPEN!! – after our week of renovations, and then our impromptu floor-fixing rescue job last week, it’s lovely to be ready for a ‘normal’ week of Dock Cafe life again.  We’re open 11-5 every day (Including St Patrick’s Day tomorrow), the kettle is on, the scones are fresh from the bakery… Your cuppa awaits!