Gloucester Food Dock reveals first businesses to join the site

Gloucester Food Dock has revealed the names of the first three food & drink businesses confirmed for the new £3.5m waterfront dining destination.

Sibling Distillery, Stroud-based Strip Steak Bar and Gloucester-based Wholly Gelato will be among 15 new businesses to welcome customers when the development opens later this summer.

A vibrant and elegant cocktail and champagne bar from the team behind Cheltenham-based Sibling Distillery promises to bring a touch of the Riviera to the docks with classic cocktails, craft beers and sparkling wines on offer as well as local and continental drinks, tasting evenings and happy hours.  Owned and managed by two brothers and two sisters, the Siblings have a strong background in the drinks industry and the bar at Gloucester Food Dock – their first – is the culmination of a long-held dream.

“We’ve been talking about opening our first bar for a while now, and the pandemic gave us plenty of time to daydream!” comments Felix Elliott-Berry, the eldest of the Siblings.   “We see enormous potential in the docks area and when we heard about the plans for the Food Dock it took us no time at all to realise this will be the perfect place for us.

“Gloucester is a lively and exciting city and there is certainly an appetite for a fun, vibrant place to go for a great cocktail, a carafe of wine or a local beer in a beautiful setting.  The sunset and water views are an added bonus and fit in perfectly with the vibe we aim to create,” he added.  “We’re really excited to be alongside some other great producers and can't wait to see the full line up.”

Strip Steak Bar is an exciting new fast service concept and is simply defined as ‘premium quality certified black Angus strip loin served rapidly to your liking’.  Chef and co-founder Arthur Knights has worked in some of the world’s top Michelin restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay’s.  Arthur’s signature dishes include Premium Sirloin Strip Steak with beef dripping fries and Strip Steak Wrap with crispy onions and Cheddar sauce, as well as a non-meat option featuring his special vegan steak.

Co-founder Ross Sanders: “Taking Strip to Gloucester Food Dock was an obvious decision for us as it’s a premium site in an exciting city - it sits with our brand and ethos perfectly. We’re very excited to be part of it.”

Family-run Wholly Gelato’s award-winning Italian-style gelato is made on the farm from milk produced by the family’s own free-range herd at Elmore, near Gloucester, and is fast gaining a reputation for its innovative flavours and natural ingredients.   At Gloucester Food Dock, Wholly Gelato will celebrate all the heritage of traditional ice cream parlours while offering a great range of treats including Gelato scoops and shakes, ice cream sundaes and sodas, cakes & confectionery and takeaway tubs.

“As a small, family-run business with proud Gloucestershire roots, we’re all so thrilled to be launching our first Gelato Bar within Gloucester Food Dock, a project which brings yet more regeneration to the Docks but which also upholds values which we are so passionate about ourselves - quality, local, artisan food,” commented Will Lee of Wholly Gelato’s Hobbs family.

“We look forward to further diversifying our range of milk and gelato-based products, and to standing alongside other local food producers, to create a standout food-hub in the heart of our great city.”

Gloucester Food Dock, which overlooks Victoria Basin at the bottom of Southgate Street, will be home to up to 15 artisan food & drink businesses drawn from Gloucestershire and the surrounding region.  Two 19^th century brick buildings are being extensively refurbished and reconfigured to incorporate external dining terraces and stand-alone wooden-clad units.  It is due to open later this summer.

“We’re really thrilled to introduce these three very different food concepts which are excellent examples of the type of creative businesses we’re looking for, and which totally encapsulate the ethos of Gloucester Food Dock,” commented co-founder Sarah Mansfield.  “They are all family businesses with a strong emphasis on high quality, creative fresh food and sustainability – and what they each deliver is exceptional.”

Co-founder Ken Elliott added: “We’re very excited to welcome them into the Food Dock family – the first of many more to come!  We’re also keen to hear from other food & drink businesses so please get in touch if you have an exciting food concept you’d like to talk to us about!”