Valentine’s Bar is scheduled to open before the December exam period at the University of St Andrews’ Sports Centre. The café will serve a wide range of customisable shakes and smoothies to the public and avid gym-goers.
The owner of the new establishment is Valentin Moczo, a recent graduate of the University of St Andrews who completed his Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology in the summer of 2019.
During his time at the University, he said he “sensed an unfulfilled need for a healthy food and drink bar in-side the sports complex.” This realisation led to two years of in-depth planning and coordination between the Sports Centre’s board of directors, financiers, accountants, lawyers, and Mr Moczo and his team, which has resulted in the establishment of Valentine’s Bar.
When asked what he believed the impact Valentine’s Bar would have on the Sports Centre and the wider community, Mr Moczo stated that, “Our foremost objective was to make people happy, speak to athletes, parents, and kids while providing them with drinks and refreshments that bring benefit to their health. “In my opinion, this project was worth it if it helps even one person to move towards a goal in mind.”
Students of the University have expressed their support for the opening of the shake bar, reflecting Mr Moczo’s sentiment that something was missing from the Centre. Beth Emerson, a third-year economics student, said that the opening of a café would “make going to the gym a less daunting prospect, especially with the reward of a smoothie after.”
Having talked to a number of students, many have said that after training it is often difficult to go home for food or snacks before lectures, therefore a café would make the “experience [of going to the gym] a lot nicer and make the Sport Centre a much more social experience.”
The development of the café will be the latest addition to the Sports Centre which recently opened the indoor tennis centre in March 2018. Gary Brankin, the assistant director of sports operations and facilities at the Centre, stated that the “café/shake bar will be a great addition to our facilities and it will complement all of the recent work that has gone on in expanding and improving our sports facilities.”
The menu of Valentine’s Bar will include shakes and smoothies that vary from a “pre or post-workout snack to a meal replacement you can down on the go. With convenience being one of the main priorities of the café there will be an option for customers to pre order their meals before training so that “your fuel will be ready when you are.”
This, along with teas, coffees, sandwiches and ready meals, will be available, “along with some surprises,” Mr. Moczo said. “I am also proud that we will provide a plastic-free service to support the St Andrews green initiative.”
