Dunkerton, a new pub, and an independent food quarter for Gloucester
Dunkerton, a new pub, and an independent food quarter for Gloucester
A connection between the godfather of entrepreneurialism, Julian Dunkerton, and an exciting new independent food-led pub opening at Gloucester Docks has been confirmed, but it’s not what we thought.
Dear Readers,
Welcome to you Thursday edition of The Raikes Journal.
On Monday we ran a report on the Cirencester Business Awards, run by the Cotswold town’s chamber of commerce. We were media partners at the event and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but also discovered so many new and exciting business.
The winner of business of the year was DipTribe, an environmentally friendly outdoor clothing company run by a husband and wife team from Gloucestershire, but you can find out about all the winners here.
On Monday evening we were at a fascinating event staged by one of our Founding Partners, QuoLux. The event said saw the launch of B Local Gloucestershire, a group which aims to support the county’s growing network of certified and aspiring B Corp businesses, but it was headlined by three diverse speakers who covered off the real impact of climate change, what business is doing here in Gloucestershire to deliver real benefits for its community and itself, otherwise known as good dividends, and how the university is quietly launching a revolution in degree education to deliver graduates with an arsenal of skills fit for the modern business. We’ll be publishing our full report soon.
Please do send us your stories/ideas about companies/people/issues you think we should write about. Contact andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk or telephone 07956 926061.
Why today’s lead...
We actually had another story lined up entirely for today And we almost walked past the main lead below about a new restaurant pub when we saw everyone else has posted near identical words from the press release on their websites. But we had a hunch about a connection to multi-millionaire businessman Julian Dunkerton and off we went. The link to the Superdry fashion brand founder is not what we thought, but it’s there. And the story of the business behind the food pub investing in the Docks might just be an antidote for those wondering if hospitality has a future. This is an exciting, growing family business, and its Gloucester project is a major new piece establishing an exciting independent waterside quarter of food businesses Dock-side.
You can read it below.
Your briefing notes...
🕺 💃 Earlier this year a Cheltenham-based business declared its ambitions to become the UK’s largest chain of bars and nightclubs - revealing that it planned to add six to eight sites to its growing 17-strong portfolio in 2024. This is Epic Bars and Clubs, the venture founded by Mark Shorting and Nigel Blair, two of the founders of the Fever Bar business. It has now emerged that one of those additions is none other than Atik, the popular night club on Westgate Street, Gloucester. Epic plans a ‘£750,000 refurbishment’ of the building - a former swimming pool next to the city’s current pool, Freedom Leisure. The venue is expected to close on 20 July before re-opening on the weekend of 30/31 August with a new name, Trilogy. It is understood all staff will retain their jobs and the refurbishment will create 30 new jobs while it is ongoing.
💷 An organisation set up to fight the destruction of historic Gloucester has won more than a quarter of a million pounds to help make one of its most beautiful and overlooked buildings a sustainable visitor attraction. Folk of Gloucester, a collection of three stunning Tudor buildings off Westage Street, is under the wing of the Gloucester Culture Trust, which has won the money from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and will use it to create three new roles, a CEO, an event duty manager and a marketing and communication lead. You can read the full story in our PR Wire channel here.
Funds trigger £500,000 of green investment by Cheltenham businesses
More than half a million pounds of investment will take place across 19 small and medium-sized Cheltenham businesses to help them address carbon emissions, thanks to funding won from central government.
Some of the projects are small, some ambitious, but the investment will be the net effect of a much smaller £120,000 won by the borough council and forming what the local authority calls its Cheltenham Zero Business fund.
The fund was made available for businesses to help them carry out projects to transition towards low carbon operations and improve energy efficiency as part of the town’s 2030 net zero target. The council received £100,000 from the UK Shares Prosperity Fund and the funding was delivered in partnership with county-based sustainability charity Vision 21.
Angie Petkovic, of award-winning Beechurst Serviced Apartments in The Reddings, the first business of its kind to win B Crop status in the UK, said: “The Cheltenham Zero grant will be put to good use as part of our capital expenditure in our infrastructure, supporting us with energy and carbon saving measures.
“These include extending our solar panel array and battery facilities, solar-enabling our hot water system, and looking at centralised controls for heating for example.”
Other projects include solar PV panels at Willans LLP solicitors and The Leckhampton Surgery, electric vehicle parking at Albright IP Limited and installation of loft insulation and LED compatible light fittings in the restaurant Purslane Restaurant. See the rest here.
* Everything you read on The Raikes Journal is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne, our sponsors Hartpury University and Hartpury College, our Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
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Dunkerton, a new pub, and an independent food quarter for Gloucester
A connection between the godfather of entrepreneurialism, Julian Dunkerton, and an exciting new independent food-led pub opening at Gloucester Docks has been confirmed, but it’s not what we thought.
By Andrew Merrell
When a story emerged about a trio of brothers from Herefordshire planning to open a food-led pub at Gloucester Docks, in an historic building Julian Dunkerton allegedly had his eyes on, we immediately felt sure there was a connection.
Cheltenham-based Dunkerton, famous for his Superdry clothing business and well-known for starting or investing in numerous other businesses, also hailed from Herefordshire, and it is where his now Dowdeswell-based Dunkertons Cider has its roots.
A little more research found that the team behind ART Hospitality Group (previously A Rule of Tum), the business taking over Foster’s on the Docks, in Kimberley Warehouse, had started life doing pop-up events at Dunkerton’s farm in Pembridge, Herefordshire.
Was this Dunkerton in disguise, carrying out his plans afterall? The theory had to be true. Right? Wrong. But the connection is definitely there.
“We did have talks with Julian about helping him roll out his bakery chain across the Midlands, but we felt in the end to be working with such an established and high-profile business figure was not where our strengths lay.
“We’ve grown by being able to pivot quickly if we need to change – and we have a plan,” said Dorian Kirk, who together with his brothers Edwin and Rupert, are the brains behind the operation, which started in 2013 as a passion project.
As early as 2014 it was getting some serious wind in its sails courtesy of recognition from the likes of food critic Jay Rayner, who wrote ‘a stellar review’ for the Guardian praising the burger shop for “a remarkable effort on doing the seemingly simple, a gold star and a tick”.
It also won an OFM Award (Observer Food Monthly) for the best Sunday lunch, the first outside London to do so.
Today, the just rebranded ART Hospitality has become one of the UK’s most exciting emerging hospitality businesses. And although small compared to the likes of Loungers - that was founded in Bristol two decades ago and now operates from 262 sites including Portivo Lounge, at Gloucester Quays - ART has ambitions and a long-term vision of a sustainable, exciting, creative business.
It’s own portfolio (Dr Foster is its seventh restaurant) is nevetheless packed with a lip-smacking variety - and includes The Bookshop, Leaven Pizza, The Yard & The Burger Shop in Hereford, as well as Maneki Ramen in Worcester.
When Dorian said above that the team ‘had a plan’ - it did not include the Gloucester operation at all. That it does now only underlines that willingness to pivot quickly when opportunity calls and to invest - a trademark of the brothers’ approach.
“We had already signed to open our second Maneki Ramen restaurant in Birmingham and did not plan to expand again this year, but when we saw the opportunity, we could not ignore it,” he said, adding he couldn’t believe the builing was not home to a thriving business already.
“We have done a lot of big growth this year, and it takes a while for the profits to come in, but we were able to make this work and we’re excited.”
How have they made it work?
A look at their story shows a business where ideas continually bubble away, as shown by the hugely successful crowdfunding during covid that sailed past £500,000, to food venues selling a variety of cuisine.
It is all coupled with an acute attention to what customers want, what works and what doesn’t, and finding chefs who can deliver brilliant food.
“Funding for Gloucester all comes from cash flow out of the restaurants. We brought in some more people in terms of our directorship, so there are some more people becoming shareholders.
“Despite what it might look like, our model is actually about growing slower, investing in staff, not trying to grow too fast, become inconsistent and disappoint.
“I think when we first started out in this sector it was not uncommon for chefs to work 100 hours a week. Post covid, they don’t want to do that anymore and they are harder to recruit.
“We have a concept we call ‘chef-preneur’, which is where each chef is actually a part owner of the business,” said Dorian, explaining how that help deliver motivated, committed leaders in the kitchen, passionate about the food they are delivering.
Dr Foster’s kitchen will be in the safe hands of executive chef Callum McDonald, who has worked with Michelin chefs before joining ART at its Hereford venue, The Book Shop.
“We also have good managers and take our time to find them. It is harder route to go down, but it is producing results.
“If we didn’t do that we, as directors, would be running around all the time, getting stressed and worrying about the quality of the food,” said Dorian.
The Gloucester pub will take the same approach, carefully recruiting and growing to the point ART expects to create 30 jobs. It will be led by its food, with a big push on the brunch menu.
There is seating capacity of 90 in the bookable restaurant upstairs, with 150 covers downstairs in a space that includes an outdoor courtyard and dockside seating.
And the venture will mark the reinvention of a once popular venue that pre-Covid-19 was expected to be redeveloped by a firm under Julian Dunkerton’s wing into a boutique hotel – and never really found its feet again post-pandemic.
The new Dr Foster will complete an exciting set of restaurants at the Docks, alongside Greek on the Docks and Trattoria Settebello - both run by Gloucester families, in what has become the city’s waterside quarter for independent eateries just yards from the newly opened Food Dock.
“We are not in this for the short term, to grow a business and sell it,” said Dorian.
“We think it is possible to create a sustainable, exciting, creative business that we can work in, grow and make a great place to work too.
“And if we get to 60 (years old) and want to step back, we know there will still be a business people want to be part of.”
Dr Foster will officially open tomorrow (Friday 12 July).
Expect a diverse menu, from beautiful brunch dishes such as Foster’s baked eggs with yoghurt, nduja sausage crumb, dukkah, and sourdough, to hearty evening meals like the classic chicken, thyme, and leek pie served with buttered mash potato, Hereford Heggie’s steaks, cooked over coal, local beers – including from Gloucester Brewery and Deya Brewery, Wye Valley as well as cocktails.
If you think the pressure on hospitality leave no room to move currently, this business seems to be finding space to dance. Greek on the Docks, Trattoria Settebello, The Food Dock, now this! Not a bad hand to play at all, Gloucester! Very best wishes for tomorrow's launch!!