‘It’s time for the property industry to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to food and drink’

Bristol is a foodie city. You didn’t hear it here first, of course. It’s one of the many aspects of this city that make it such a great place to be. If we take a look at the most popular and successful areas and neighbourhoods of Bristol, and indeed any other major city, they have one thing in common: a thriving, varied and proudly independent food and hospitality scene.

The property industry has certainly woken up to this – with commercial agents’ write-ups extolling the virtues of local shops and eateries, developers actively seeking pop-up events and street food markets and major commercial occupiers on the hunt for space with an active and varied leisure offer on the doorstep.

Recognition at last. But this creative, resilient but nonetheless vulnerable sector, hit hard by the pandemic, needs more than recognition. As an industry, we in the property sector need to step up and adapt to meet the new and changing needs of the hospitality and retail trades, which were forced to be flexible in the face of the pandemic.

Restaurants, shops and cafés have made widescale changes to the way in which they operate over the last 18 months, in some cases completely changing their business model. Now it is our turn – and flexibility is key. Offering more opportunities for new businesses to try out new ways of working whether via temporary space, collaborations with established operators or even pop-ups should be encouraged.

Developers should be supporting the hospitality trade, argues Lucinda Mitchell – photo: Temple Quay Market

At Soapworks, the £175m redevelopment scheme for the former Gardiner Haskins site in Old Market, we are working to take this a step further. Plans are underway to create Bristol’s first purpose-built food hall, offering an array of local, independent food options, to eat in in shared dining space, or take away, whilst also including food retail options for cooking at home.

What’s more, we’re working on a new restaurant incubator concept – a new, contemporary space where chefs and local food businesses can try out new restaurant concepts, taking it on for around six months in order to develop and grow their eat-in offer, before moving on to more permanent premises when successful.

Science and business incubators are an established and much-celebrated instrument of economic development – and one we should extend to the food and drink sector.

It will mean businesses operating at Soapworks can take time and space to experiment and expand, whilst ensuring an ever-changing scene for people living, working and visiting. It will mean there is always a reason to say, “Let’s try out that new place.”

Science and business incubators, such as the new Science Creates in Old Market, are an established and much-celebrated instrument of economic development – photo courtesy of Transatlantic PR/ Science Creates

Hospitality and retail operators also play a powerful role in community inclusion and social cohesion. We’ve been making connections with local food and hospitality businesses and with representative groups such as the Bristol Food Network, in order to help shape our ideas and encourage their involvement.

We are determined to make Soapworks as diverse and inclusive as the community that has grown up around it. As part of our work to engage with and support local entrepreneurs and businesses in Bristol, we have partnered with Black South West Network and Cognitive Paths to support black local enterprises with a range of business development opportunities.

And with 240 black-owned organisations within the immediate vicinity of Soapworks, we are very much looking hoping to welcoming some of these businesses into our new food and drinks offer.

Let’s be honest – support for food and hospitality businesses from developers like ourselves isn’t about philanthropy. Creating a buzz about a place, a reason not just to visit but to dwell and explore is a major part of delivering a successful mixed-use development. That’s why it’s time for the property industry to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to food and drink – and for active support of the sector, in terms of price, flexibility and terms, to become the rule rather than the exception.

Lucinda Mitchell argues it’s time for the property industry to put its money where its mouth is – photo courtesy of First Base

Lucinda Mitchell is the project director for Soapworks

Soapworks CGI courtesy of First Base

Read more: Making it easier to find hospitality jobs in Bristol 

Listen to the latest Bristol 24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: