Titanic Brewery has announced that its new café bar in Stafford will open in time for breakfast on Good Friday (March 30). bod, a café and craft beer bar, represents a new concept for the Staffordshire-based brewers and will open at 8am, seven days a week, for hot and cold beverages and food, with the bar opening at noon.
Up to 20 jobs will be created at the venue, in Bodmin Avenue, Weeping Cross, Stafford, and the Titanic crew will be led by Staffordian Nathan Wilson, who has a fascinating work history in both hospitality and as an award-winning theatre director, writer and actor.
Nathan started as a pot washer in local pubs and restaurants at the age of 15 and worked his way up to head chef. He is returning to Stafford after working in senior hospitality roles around the world, taking in destinations including London, New York, France, Argentina and Luxembourg.
His latest stint in catering allowed him to spend five-years in Russia working on designing, planning and opening five restaurants for independent businesses.
Nathan’s other passion is the theatre and he has won international awards, including the Grand Prix prize for the best premiere of a play in the Russian Federation and a special prize from UNESCO for his contributions to arts.
Enthused
Dave Bott, a director at Titanic Brewery, said: “We are excited for the opening of bod and have been enthused by the support of local residents in Weeping Cross and Walton, Stafford, for the new café bar.
“People know our brewery for both our award-winning beer and our welcoming community pubs and while, as a café bar, bod is an exciting new challenge, it will still have the community ethos at its heart.”
bod has been developed in the former Co-Op store building at Weeping Cross. It will be a café bar, opening throughout the day, serving coffee, tea and pastries from breakfast time onwards, with craft and real ale available for lunchtime and evening customers.
Dave said: “We have recruited a 20-strong team of full- and part-time staff led by Nathan Wilson. Nathan is an old friend of the brewery, having worked for Titanic in the past, and he has a wealth of experience across the hospitality trade. He has worked with us in developing plans for bod and it is fantastic to be able to welcome Nathan back to his home town following his amazing adventures across the globe.”
Titanic Brewery, based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, is owned by Stafford-born brothers, Dave and Keith Bott. The brewery has seven managed pubs in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, including the Sun in Stafford town centre. They recently announced plans to open bod, and a new café and craft ale bar at Stoke Station.