Fast-forward a couple of decades and the independent brewer has transformed itself into perhaps the most progressive pub and restaurant group in the south west. This is thanks largely to the opening of Graze in Bristol in November — an cover restaurant inspired by the chophouses of London and New York. Not only did this move the brewer into the restaurant world proper but it inspired the company to branch out into even more diverse areas of the market and set it on the new and more adventurous course that it takes today.
The grilled meat and fish-led menu has a brasserie format with a tight selection of starters and small plates, followed by a strong offer of meat from a Josper oven, including flat-iron, sirloin and rib-eye steaks as well as pork and lamb chops and poussin and various other mains and salads. We want to have sites that can sell a lot of beer but the idea was to get away from what was a very wet-dominated mix.
Graze gave us that opportunity to step up the food side of our offer. Yet despite its meat and beer-heavy offer the site, located in a new food quarter in and around the arches of Bath Spa train station, is no drinking den designed to appeal to a masculine audience.
Rather, it is a bright, family-friendly space that evolves throughout the day, moving from a relaxing, child-friendly lunchtime space into a more lively evening destination. It becomes quite intimate in the evening. The creation of Graze effectively means that Bath Ales now operates three separate businesses — it is at once a brewer, managed-pub operator and restaurant company.
However, there are parallels between each of the operations that create a useful synergy. The reason we got into pubs in the first place was because it was a way of selling beer and generating that all important cash-flow. And, in the context of an increasingly fickle customer base, to have more than one style of operation in your portfolio means that you can appeal to your customers on more than one occasion, which can be quite valuable.
