Bristol’s Finzels Reach development has signed up another key independent occupier to its growing roster of bars, eateries and creative businesses.
Bocabar, well-known for its long-established café/bar at Paintworks, is to open an outlet at Finzels Reach as the mixed-use scheme opposite Castle Park continues to act as a magnet for creative and artisan businesses. 
Bocabar will be based on the ground floor of the site’s historic Fermentation Buildings, beneath Channel 4’s soon-to-open Bristol creative hub.
The café/bar will open onto Hawkins Lane, the new walkway running through the heart of site and connecting to Castle Park and the city centre via the striking Castle Bridge.
The Fermentation Buildings are part of the rich brewing history at Finzels Reach, which has been home to several famous breweries over 200-plus years, most recently Courage Brewery before it closed in the 1990s.
By the end of the year, around 2,500 people will be living and working at Finzels Reach, a flourishing new community in the heart of Bristol, created by Bristol developer Cubex with funding from Palmer Capital.
With new homes, unique workspaces, an hotel and leisure space plus a weekly food market, Finzels Reach is now an area transformed, having been previously closed to the public for more than two centuries.
Bristol café group Spicer+Cole’s new outlet is now open, Café Matariki is already well established and Bristol craft brewery Left Handed Giant set to open its new brewpub and brewery this summer, alongside Bristol pop-up Mission Pizza.
Cubex executive director Gavin Bridge said: “We are thrilled to have Bocabar on board at Finzels Reach. Now that Hawkins Lane is open, it’s great to see people starting to use this new through-route that connects the city centre and main shopping quarters to Finzels Reach and through towards Temple Meads.
“Finzels Reach is set to be home to an eclectic mix of independent businesses, providing both day and evening activities and offers to ensure it is a thriving hub for the local community and wider city.”
Melissa Eavis, who co-owns and co-runs Bocabar with Paul Eavis having started the business 15 years ago, said: “We are hugely excited about joining the Finzels Reach community, which is fast emerging as a fantastic new quarter for the city.
“It’s a great fit for our business as we love the combination of historic and new architecture, giving the area its own unique character, combined with the fact it’s in an excellent location right in the heart of the city.
“We’ll be spending lots of time at Bocabar Finzels Reach to ensure we respond to people’s feedback and that the offer is something that appeals to those who live and work in, as well as visit this thriving new area. We are very hands-on, so we are looking forward to getting stuck in and creating something really special at our new site.”
The café/bar will be open seven days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, including a menu of 25 different stone-baked pizzas, gourmet burgers, sharing mezze plates and daily specials focusing on small, local suppliers and seasonal ingredients. It will feature an outside seating area with 70 covers, accessed through bi-folding doors from the main restaurant and bar.
As well as its site at Paintworks in Bristol, Bocabar also has a restaurant and bar in Glastonbury.
