On the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 7th June 2018, The Willow Tea Room Trust invited a group of guests to preview the restored Willow Tea Rooms Building at 217 Sauchiehall Street following a £10 million restoration, delivered by which Clark Contracts.

As main Contractor, Clark Contracts, has been on site since August 2017 completing the final construction and fit out phase of the famous Willow Tea Rooms Building to create Mackintosh at the Willow, which will provide restored tea rooms along with an exhibition and visitor centre, learning and education suite, retail and conference facilities.

The firm’s manufactured joinery division has recreated many of the original fitted furniture pieces which will feature in the refurbished Tea Rooms including the front salon baldacchino, bespoke banquet seating in the front salon and gallery, the detailed seating in the billiard room and the inglenook seating at its original fireplace.

The 200 seat restaurant and tea rooms, known as ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ will have a phased opening during the summer of 2018, with the official opening of “Mackintosh at the Willow” in September 2018.

Celia Sinclair, chair of The Willow Tea Rooms Trust, said: “The retail store will open to the public on the afternoon of the 7th June. ‘Mackintosh at the Willow’ will cater for pre-booked groups throughout June, opening up to the public on 2nd July with a limited menu. The Interactive Exhibition and Visitor Centre will open at the end of the July and finally the Audio Visual Theatre complementing the Education and Learning Suite and the Contemporary Conference Facility will open in August.”

Gerry Cummins, director at Clark Contracts, added: “It is fantastic to be involved in Mackintosh’s 150th celebrations and we are honoured to be involved in the restoration of such an iconic building within Glasgow. It has been great working with The Willow Tea Rooms Trust, their Mackintosh experts and the design team on the project.”

When fully open, it is estimated the Tea Rooms will welcome at least 360,000 visitors a year and will be a significant boost to tourism in the City, as an exciting new heritage and tourist visitor attraction.

The Lord Provost said: “It’s tremendous to join everyone at the iconic original Willow Tea Rooms building on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Glasgow City Council is proud to support this marvellous project that will tell the story of Mackintosh and Miss Cranston for generations to come. My congratulations to everyone involved for their commitment to Mackintosh and this superb restoration that will attract visitors from across the globe.”