Brewer Bath Ales is growing portfolio of bars, pubs and restaurants by taking over the café bar and restaurant at Colston Hall concert venue in Bristol.
After taking over the Café Bar in the hall’s foyer area this week, it will carry out a refurbishment at the start of 2014. The 300-capacity bar is not just for concert goers but open from 8am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and from 9am to 10.30pm on Sundays.
Bath Ales is due to reopen Colston Hall’s 40-seater Bistrot on the upper ground floor in the new year with plans for a refurbishment.
The independent brewer, whose beer range includes Gem, Dark Side and Wild Hare, operates a growing range of venues in the south-west including Bristol’s craft beer bar Beerd and Graze Bars in Bristol, Bath and Cirencester.
Robin Couling, managing director of Bath Ales, said: “Colston Hall is a landmark institution in the heart of Bristol, so we’re thrilled to be working with the venue and its operator Bristol Music Trust to create a dining and drinking experience in line with the developing entertainment offering in the halls.
“We select our venues extremely carefully, always looking to challenge ourselves and offer something of high quality with a point of difference. This is exactly what we plan to do at Colston Hall.
“Our business is going from strength to strength and, alongside strong sales of our beer, this is being driven by innovation in our retail division. As we look to continue our expansion plans, 2014 is already shaping up to be a very busy year.”
The existing team will remain in place in the Café Bar and will be joined by some of the core Bath Ales team.
Marguerite Jenkin, finance and commercial director of Bristol Music Trust, said: “Bath Ales is an ambitious local business that enjoys a great reputation for their venues and their beers.
“The Café Bar is always buzzing with activity, so we’re hoping that even more people will use it as a space, popping in to enjoy a free concert in the foyer, while the restaurant will offer pre-concert packages and an excellent food offering in its own right.
“The partnership will ensure we deliver an exceptional audience experience, on a par with the entertainment offering at the city’s leading concert venue.”
In 2009, Colston Hall completed its new foyer, meeting spaces, restaurant and Café Bar. Bristol Music Trust is now raising funds for the second phase of the refurbishment including the complete transformation of the performance spaces.
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