Why is Dinner at BANK Getting More Affordable?
This is what we're doing to keep community at the heart of what we do.
A lot has changed in the past few months. There has been a profound change in the ways that we're able to spend our money, and how we approach food and drink as consumers. Like so many people, I love visiting great restaurants, nice bars, and popping out for coffee on the weekends, but it's getting harder to do it with the same frequency we might have just a few months ago.
I launched BANK because I want people to be able to enjoy dinner on an impromptu date night, or a few cocktails when you catch up with a friend. The food and drink we serve is made to be shared. We do this to make people's lives better, and we want you to feel like you can join us anytime of the week, for any occasion. That's why we've worked hard to bring our prices down; so that we can stay true to the venue we always set out to create.
Luckily, before we ever opened our doors to the general public, I sat down with my wife and Paddy (our very first team member and General Manager), and poured hours into thinking about why we were doing what we were doing (after all, opening a restaurant at the tail end of a pandemic had to be lunacy). What we came up with was a mission statement and a set of brand values that would guide us whenever we had to make a decision that would affect the business. Our brand values are built for internal use only. They're not a piece of marketing, but rather a guiding light in how we can stay true to the venue we always envisioned. I'm not going to share our brand values with you here, but I am going to tell you the mission statement, written when BANK was a building site, and we were sat on a cardboard box thinking about what we wanted to build.
Our mission is to "serve exceptional food and drink, champion quality, and use creativity to deliver an exciting and memorable guest experience".
We really believe that to create memorable experiences for everyone who visits us, we need to remain accessible. This always comes as a balancing act. Striving to serve great food and drink means we need to buy excellent produce, and employ a knowledgeable and passionate team. Ultimately, we are here to serve people, aiming to create wonderful memories of food, drink, and laughter at BANK.
Our aim has always been to be a part of our community and provide a space that people could use at any time of day, for any occasion, on a regular basis.
To be that place, in a time like this, we have to make a concerted effort to battle the rising cost of goods, and use our creativity and passion for hospitality to keep our space accessible to the whole community.
So we're making some changes.
From here, we'll be adding a slightly new dimension to how we build our menu. We'll continue serving food that genuinely excites us, and showcases the very best ingredients around, but we'll be doing it in a more mindful way. Quite simply, we'll be working hard to bring down the price per head, while maintaining really tasty dishes that encapsulate the same style we've become known for.
This mindfulness about the dishes we put on our menu will mean that you will be able to pop into BANK for a couple of small plates and dessert for around the £23 mark. Now, more than ever, it's important that people feel that they have a space away from home that they can enjoy without breaking the bank (no pun intended). We'd also love to hear your suggestions for how we can make BANK better. Whatever feedback you might have, we are always eager to know how we can improve. My inbox is always open, so please don't hesitate to send me an email. You can reach me on dan@bankbristol.com, and I'll always reply personally.