Type=image;ImageID=13723;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Olympic medal winning gymnast Kristian Thomas;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=13724;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Kristian Thomas opens the new Civic Centre café;TitleClass=strong;
Type=image;ImageID=13725;ImageClass=left;ImageTitle=Councillor Andrew Johnson, Lynn Reid, Kristian Thomas;TitleClass=strong;
The eatery - called WV Café - on the ground floor of the Civic Centre provides a wide selection of refreshments for the hundreds of daily visitors to the council's headquarters as well as employees.
One of the catering staff who work on the café - Lynn Reid - is none other than Kristian's mother in law and she invited the 28 year old, who still lives in the city, to come and see the facility.
The main feature of the café is a salad and fruit bar offering a range of healthier options which athlete Kristian was keen to sample for himself.
It also provides drinks including Costa coffee, sandwiches, confectionary and a varied selection of hot and cold food.
Kristian said: "It's a real honour to be invited to City of Wolverhampton Council's new café. I was pleased to help when my mother in law Lynn suggested it.
"She and her team are looking forward to working at the new venue. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch and would recommend visitors to the civic centre or the wider city to call in and try it out.
"There's something for everyone and I'm particularly impressed with the salad bar."
His mother in law Lynn Reid said: "This is a really exciting time for the catering team here at the City of Wolverhampton Council. The new café has so much more to offer customers, it's a great place to work.
"I'm so proud that my son in law Kristian has helped us promote it. He's a true Wulfrunian and he's achieved so much - it's so fitting that he came to help us tell the people of Wolverhampton about this fantastic new facility."
As well as the café, the council has also unveiled its completed customer service centre. The first phase was revealed back in March, but hoardings have now come down revealing a selection of computers and telephones which are free for the public to use.
There are also self service kiosks for customers who wish to complete their transactions quickly and easily.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, City of Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for resources, said: "We are very proud to be opening our completed customer service centre and brand new café to the public.
"These are first class facilities ensuring that the hundreds of people who visit the Civic Centre each day are greeted in professional surroundings and their enquiry is dealt with quickly and efficiently.
"We are making significant improvements to the Civic Centre to extend the life of the building, provide a better service to the public and save taxpayers £500,000 a year by enabling us to close aging, expensive to maintain satellite offices."
Both the café and the customer service centre are part of the ongoing programme of improvements and essential repairs and maintenance being carried out to the Civic Centre.
The underground car park has been refurbished and the facility won a national award. Extensive mechanical and electrical repairs on all floors of the Civic Centre are taking place.
Outdated systems including electrics, heating and fire alarms which were at serious risk of breaking down are being replaced and asbestos is being removed. Office space is also being modernised to enable staff in outlying offices to move into the building.
The overall scheme will save taxpayers more than £500,000 a year by enabling the closure of outlying offices which are expensive to run and maintain. The programme is due to be completed by Spring 2018.
- released: Wednesday 20 September, 2017