Elizabeth Terminal Cafe

WQ.416/2025

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

BY DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 3rd NOVEMBER 2025 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 10th NOVEMBER 2025

Question

"In relation to the Elizabeth Terminal Café concession, will the Minister advise–

1. how many businesses applied to operate the venue;
2. whether the café is accessible to non-travelling members of the public, and if not, why not, providing details of who made this decision; and
3. whether the café accepts cash and if not, advise whether it is the Ports of Jersey or the café operator's decision not to accept cash?"

Answer

1. Following the collapse of the existing Food & Beverage operator (Casual Dining Group) during the pandemic in 2020, Ports of Jersey (PoJ) ran a tender process for a provider of Food & Beverage service at Elizabeth Terminal, however no bids were received.

As JPRestaurants had already secured the airport catering tender, PoJ invited them to operate the site.

The current agreement with JPRestaurants is due to expire in 12 months. Earlier in 2025 PoJ reopened the tender process which again did not receive any submissions. PoJ are now exploring alternative options for the future operation of the site.

2. To improve the passenger experience for the large number of foot passengers who use Elizabeth Terminal, a number of changes were made to the layout ahead of Summer 2025.

The changes involved redesigning the security process and the land-side / sea-side border (after security) to reduce queues and to enable passengers to pass through security straight after check- in.

The space available sea-side was also increased, opening the Shipyard restaurant and creating a new outdoor space for passengers to use whilst waiting to board ferries, as well as opening a children's play area and new toilets for foot passengers.

As a result of the changes, there were only Vending facilities available within the terminal for land- side users of the terminal.

PoJ is currently exploring alternative options for the future operations which include the land-side catering offer.

Previous data indicated that car passengers generally remained in their vehicles and did not make use of the landside facilities. Over the Summer PoJ trialled a coffee and donut cart seaside within the car lanes which proved successful in engaging passengers. In the new year PoJ intends to again provide the offer in the car lanes for the summer sailings and will invite additional local businesses to participate.

3. Café Ube does not accept cash. Each business operator determines individually whether it wishes to accept cash payments.