As we hover on the edge of lockdown, optimistic and nervous in equal measure, it occurred to me that a Riverbank update is long overdue, especially as a few things have changed around these parts.
Lockdown was a mixed blessing for many. For me the upside was a bit of space to think and get to know, albeit remotely, people like Danny.
I’d followed Danny on Instagram for a while (@thatvinegarguy), enjoying his gentle and thoughtful posts and as a lover of all things pickled and fermented, I’d bought a few things from his local and artisan small business, wildvinegar.co.uk. Before lockdown Danny and I had cooked up plans for him to run guided foraging walks and Kimchi making classes from Riverbank, and he’d even managed a few, with very encouraging feedback, before Covid closed in.
Roll forward to today and Danny is firmly part of the Riverbank stable – running a wood fired popup on the days we would previously have been closed.
Thursday to Sunday then – nothing much has changed. We still bake everything on site, brew the best coffee we can and aim to sell out by the end of the day.
Monday to Wednesday a lot has changed. Danny’s popup is located at the wood fired oven where he offers a lovely filter coffee supplied by Lonton, our ‘Riverbank’ roaster, along with wood fired goodies; bacon sandwiches with the same delicious bacon from Mackenzies Smokehouse and sourdough ciabatta from Lovingly Artisan, sourdough pizza by the slice and home baked scones, tarts and cakes.
The idea is that, for the summer at least, you can pick up a coffee and something delicious and homemade from Riverbank every day, between 9 and 3.
And that’s not all…
WOODFIRED PIZZA
Pizza Fridays are back and you can now select your own toppings and pre-book a slot, all online at riverbankburnsall.com/woodfired. Our plan is to offer these pre-order pizzas every Friday, (weather permitting) during the summer months.*
Walk-ins are welcome too, and we can now give you a good idea of when your pizza will be ready and send you off to the pub, or to relax on the riverbank while you wait.
So that’s what we’ve been up to. It’s not perfect but we’ll never stop trying!
* Numbers are limited and we have been known to sell out.
PLANS
Looking ahead as far as any of us dare, we’re really hopeful that, come Autumn, we’ll be able to pick up some of our plans where we left off, pre-pandemic.
We’d aimed to build the gift and craft proposition, to run workshops and use our beautiful space to bring people together to learn, share and socialise.
Here’s hoping.
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