Old dairy to host street food from across world
STREET food from around the world will be sold as part of plans to revitalise a former dairy that itself once exported West milk across the globe.
In its heyday the giant former Unigate site at Melksham in Wiltshire, built in the late 1880s by Wiltshire United Dairies, was one of Britain’s biggest and most efficient dairies.
Not only did it dominate the supply of fresh milk to London, but by the late 1930s it was exporting 320,000 cases of ‘Diploma’ condensed milk, much of it to Malaya.
But the cream of Victorian dairy technology, despite numerous upgrades, was itself past its sell-bydate by 1969 when it closed.
Since then the Avonside Enterprise Park has been home to a range of smaller retailers and businesses.
But with the world of work changing dramatically once again, accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, the owners of the site are hoping street food markets can help give it new life.
SCOFF Pop-up will be launched at Avonside on Thursday and Friday evenings from 8pm.
It will echo the popular street food markets beloved of office workers in places such as Bristol.
With many people continuing to work from home in market towns and villages around the region rather than commuting to Bristol or Bath, it is hoped that the pop-up events will prove popular with people missing cuisine more readily available in bigger cities.
The pop-up offerings at Avonside will change on a rotational basis and it will host some of the South West’s most exciting street food traders, serving up tantalising food such as New York Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, Alpine raclette and tartiflette, Neapolitan style wood-fired pizza and Spanish-inspired street food such as sugarcured pork belly and buttermilk fried chicken.
It is a new venture set up by local events director Sophie Bowden, who runs Finzels Reach’s much-loved street food market in Bristol.
The idea was originally born during lockdown when street food markets were closed and out of a desire to bring street food to local communities during the pandemic.
The concept has already proved to be a great success in Portishead in North Somerset as well as Bristol suburbs such as Redland and Clifton.
Sophie said: “The huge wave of support we’ve seen from the public towards independent food and drink businesses over the last year has been phenomenal, and I’m very excited to be expanding SCOFF Pop-up to Avonside after its success elsewhere.”
The tie-up forms part of a vision for Avonside, by owners Create Real Estate, to make the most of the town centre location and riverside setting to create a vibrant quarter for both leisure and business.It also has plans for regular Sunday markets at the site.
Gurt Wings, Niangs and Los Hermanos are among the street food stalls lined up to take part, with the first event taking place on April 8.