Gloucester is about to get a new river and canal side venue
The Lock Keepers will replace the Wharf House at Over, bringing a family friendly restaurant serving quality food. Next door will be the Mooring Post, a collection of rooms for overnight guests.
The project is the brainchild of newlyweds Rod and Clarice Jenner and brings together their love of design and entertaining. With Clarice’s background in the drinks industry, she is one of the founders of Sibling Distillery and her parents run
Battledown Brewery and Rod’s eye for design, seen most recently in the stunning refurbishment of The House at 131 the Promenade in Cheltenham, The Lock Keepers will see the waterside site transformed.
The outside space on the banks of the canal will become summer haven for a quiet drink, while inside will be refit with a modern industrial theme.
The 40-cover restaurant’s menu will include modern classics with a foodie twist and will focus heavily on showcasing the best that Gloucestershire’s producers have to offer.
Clarice said: “I’m passionate about food and drink and this is a wonderful opportunity for us to bring a taste of Gloucestershire to such a wonderful location. The menu has been carefully put together with local provenance at its heart.”
After renovating many of Cheltenham’s boutique hotel’s, including current projects at King’s House in Cheltenham, and the Crown at Minchinhampton, Rod, the Managing Director and founder of Dowdeswell Estates will bring his flair for modernising historic buildings to the former Lock Keepers cottages which sits between the River Severn and the remains of the Gloucestershire Herefordshire canal.
Rod Jenner (Image: GLOUCESTERSHIRE MEDIA)
Rod said: “I’ve been looking at this site for a while and my wife and I can’t wait to get started. The Trust has just signed off on our work proposals and the restaurant will be going through conversion to ‘The Lock Keepers’ format, which we’ve designed in house.”
It is the first joint project for the couple, who married in June this year, and they are passionate about working with other local businesses, from neighbouring Over Farm to the foodie connections Clarice has made from years touring the local farmers’ markets.
The Wharf House is now The Lock Keepers
Sibling Distillery siblings Felix 27, Cicely 23, Clarice 25 and Digby Elliott-Berry 20 (Image: Sibling)
Clarice: “After years of working at farmers’ markets all over Gloucestershire and seeing the wonderful food that the producers of our county have to offer, I’m so excited that we’re going to be able to bring all of them together under one roof.
Supporting your local producers is so important and we’re so lucky in the fact that we live in an area that excels in producing some absolutely incredible food and drink, so of course why would we need to look any further than our own doorstep?”
Rod added, “We’re really excited about the fact that we will also be doing an official partnership with Ecotricity, utilising the existing solar panels, which will bring green, sustainable energy to the whole site including the electric car charging points.
We are aiming to officially launch mid-September and are currently going through the recruitment process for the new team.”
Article above reproduced from www.GloucestershireLive.co.uk
