Your say / Food and drink
‘With two new Gail’s coming to Bristol, independent businesses need our support more than ever’
The news that a chain bakery and cafe with more than 150 outlets already across the UK is set to open two new locations in Bristol came on the same day that I had met a friend in Caffè Nero.
This wasn’t in Bristol. It was in Rickmansworth, a small town in Hertfordshire five minutes’ cycle ride away from my parents’ house. My friends Ivor and Lena were visiting from Australia for Christmas and this was where we had arranged to meet.
Rickmansworth High Street has a Nero, a Costa and a Starbucks. It used to have a great little independent bakery and cafe called Cinnamon Square just around the corner but this is sadly no more. So a once bustling High Street is now an identikit melange of beige chain outlets, of which Nero is the pick of the bunch for coffee.
is needed now More than ever
One of the best aspects of Bristol that I only ever appreciate when in places like Rickmansworth is that we have such a huge variety of choice. And it is this choice that Gail’s espouses.
Before opening in Clifton Village in May, their well-oiled PR operation rolled into action. “You can expect freshly baked sourdough, sweet and savoury bakes, sandwiches and house-blend speciality coffee made with the very best ingredients, some of which are sourced just a few miles away,” they promised.
One of their two new locations in Bristol is a site on College Green that has been empty for almost a decade. Once a Waterstones, it was then a Fopp before closing in early 2019.
A Krispy Kreme now occupies one of the newly sub-divided units so it is not as if Gail’s is muscling in on a plucky independent. Although it will almost be opposite coffee van Roco and is also very close to Woodes which has been on Park Street since 1966.
Walk towards the Centre from the soon-to-be Gail’s – next to the Lord Mayor’s Chapel – and shortly after the Hippodrome, you’ll find a Starbucks that opened with little fanfare over the summer and is surrounded by much better food and drink options including one of my own favourite Bristol cafes, Ka:Fei, with anyone who follows me on Strava being able to see that I cycle here to their blue shipping container at least once a week.
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Read more: Seven independent cafes within a stone’s throw of Starbucks
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The other new Gail’s in Bristol will be in a former bank on the corner of Whiteladies Road and Alma Road that was the short-lived Little Dobbies garden centre after the closure of the RBS.
It’s just round the corner from Bristol institution Papadeli, almost opposite 404 Bakes and the Not Found Kitchen, and just a few hundred yards from a Nero also in a former bank.
When I tweeted Bristol24/7 Business Editor Milan Perera’s story about the further expansion of Gail’s into Bristol, adding my own comment that our city does not need identikit high streets, it prompted a few replies.
Robb Pickard wrote: “Would suggest it’s only the chains that can match the rents and rates in Bristol if the commercial property market is anything like the residential market. Independents are simply priced out – no?”
Gavin Bridge said: “Actually I think it’s good for Bristol that we can continue to attract high quality chains like Gail’s. What sets us apart from others is that we are also able to grow and support independents too. A blend is the best place to be.”
Bridge noted that both Boston Tea Party and Loungers started in Bristol. Once plucky independents, they are now growing chains. Las Iguanas also began life in Bristol in 1991 as a small restaurant on St Nicholas Street in the Old City that is now Asian BBQ & Hotpot.
“At least it’s a British chain,” said Anton Goldenstein about Gail’s. “They make good stuff, much much better than the Boston Tea Party chain. There is a Kripy Kreme and other chains nearby which didn’t warrant an article.”
I disagree with Anton about BTP’s lack of quality. Their full English breakfast has often been a lifesaver for me.
One often under-appreciated facet of BTP is also their roster of former staff who have gone on to become lynchpins of Bristol’s hospitality scene, with chains also able to provide training and career progression that indies often cannot.
But Anton is right that the opening of Krispy Kreme did not warrant a news article in Bristol24/7. I only noticed it had arrived on College Green a few days after it had opened its doors and I didn’t think it would be something Bristol24/7 readers would be particularly interested in.
If you want good doughnuts, go to Pipp & Co a few doors down. If you want better doughnuts, go to Small Goods in Temple Quay.
There is something about Gail’s, however, that sets it apart. And not just the fact that a parliamentary constituency with one in is more likely to vote Lib Dem. (Stephen Williams will tell you, however, that’s not quite true in what is now Bristol Central.)
My former Bristol24/7 colleague Meg Houghton-Gilmour said she “hopes that Gail’s fails” when they announced they were opening in Clifton Village, with her piece still linked to in the Instagram bio of Foliage, whose cafe is directly opposite Gail’s on Regent Street.
I wouldn’t wish failure on any business but Meg’s piece struck a chord among those who find capitalism unfair.
Full disclosure: Meg and I were invited to visit the Gail’s in Clifton the day before its official opening with both of us being gifted a tote bag containing a loaf of bread and vouchers for a free coffee.
Bristol has got some of the best bakeries in the UK including Hart’s, Mark’s Bread and Farro to name just three. Farro is possibly opening a second site next year, something to get much more excited about than the opening of two new Gail’s.
As I have previously mentioned, in Bristol we are so fortunate to have so much choice. If you choose to go to Gail’s, I shall not begrudge you. But small businesses need our support more than ever if we want independent rather than identikit high streets in 2025.
This is an opinion piece by Martin Booth, the Editor of Bristol24/7 and a regular in too many independent coffee shops to name here
Join Martin on a walking tour of the Old City and Castle Park, which also includes a stop for a coffee in Full Court Press and a copy of one of his bestselling guidebooks. For more information and to book, visit www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners
Main photo: Martin Booth
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