When The Bristol Loaf opened its first branch on Church Road, Redfield in 2017, it was a small bakery with just one unit. It now has three branches across Bristol and the Redfield branch is expanding for the second time with a third unit that will open to the public in three weeks as a bottle shop and wine bar.
Native Vine already exists in Bedminster as an off-licence but the new Redfield branch due to open on Saturday, August 6, will expand into a wine bar in the evenings. It will serve food as well as cheese and charcuterie boards, with vegan options available.
The Bristol Loaf operates under an ethical business model so a lot of thought goes into sourcing produce from local, independent, socially and environmentally-conscious suppliers where possible. Owner Gary Derham said it's not something he likes to 'shout about' but just couldn't imagine operating a business in any other way.
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It is for that reason he has decided to specialise in natural wine. Putting thought into the social and environmental impact of each bottle. The wine - produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and with few or no additives - is something Mr Derham has developed a love for over the years.
He originally brought wine into the bakery when he opened The Bristol Loaf Bedminster branch during the pandemic. The building was big and one of the businesses that originally agreed to rent part of the space, pulled out at the last minute.
The first lockdown occurred just a few months before the business was due to open. It was a turbulent time, Mr Derham was almost bankrupted having invested so much into the opening of the new branch.
He said: “When we opened in June 2017 it was just a little bakery with four bakers at the back and a counter with a couple of seats. I was a trained chef years and years ago and the idea of working in a smaller group and actually making things again felt quite nice.
“I started of at the front of the house but we got really busy really quickly which was lovely. It looked like really quickly that we ran out of space and luckily the unit next door was up to rent almost straight away.
“We took that unit on and turned it into a little bit more seating space and a kitchen in the back where I did my cakes and pastries there. With the Bedminster one it was mostly I just saw the building and it was stunning.
“It’s rooted in the community in the same way [the Redfield branch] is rooted in the community and there were no great bakeries there either. It was a massive building so the original idea was that we were going to team up with a couple of other local independents and we were going to rent out space to them.
“But then in the middle of the build Covid hit and we had to shut the build down for a while. I had massive bank loans that I’d taken on to build the new place and it sort of almost brought us down and bankrupted us but we came out of it.
“We managed to open in September 2020 in Bedminster and at that point it felt like Covid’s gone but that was before the next wave and the next wave. But again it worked really well, the community down in Bedminster really took to us.
“I’ve always been interested in natural wines, it’s just good wine. It’s made in a slightly different way, it doesn’t have additives and chemicals.
“It works well with the rest of the company because everything we do, we try to source in the most responsible way. We make everything by hand and source in a responsible way.
“I care about the environment, I care about animal welfare, I care about ethics, not spraying pesticides everywhere, not polluting the waterways. When I first opened this, I wanted it to be a responsible company.
“We don’t do too much shouting about it because I think that can be a little virtue signalling. We’ve got 42 solar panels up on the roof but I don’t tell anyone.
“With this one it’s the next progression of Native Vine. In the daytime it will be a bottle shop and we’ll have fully trained, really interesting wine people who can give great recommendations.
“All the stuff we have, we love. We’ve tasted everything, we know the story and we think it’s really delicious. But also we’re using it as an overspill for The Loaf as well, there’ll be tables and chairs in here as well so in the daytime you can sit in the wine shop and have your cappuccino.
“We have a full brunch and lunch menu in the other two places but here in Redfield we currently only do counter food because of space. Now in the daytime there will be a full menu.”
The Bristol Loaf bakery and café is open from 8-4pm and the New Native Vine bottle shop will be open from 12-6pm Monday-Saturday.
The Native Vine wine bar and restaurant will initially open Thursday-Saturday from 6-11pm.
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