Here are some words you never expected to read: “Greggs champagne bar”. But the no-frills baker’s latest marketing stunt is a pop-up bar where its famous bakes will be served with £75-a-glass champagne in bespoke sausage roll etched coupes.
The “reservation-only” Greggs champagne bar, which claims to be “inspired by 1920s Paris wine bars” opens next week in the Newcastle branch of Fenwick. The Christmas pop-up in the department store’s food hall seats 16 customers around a curved bar with guests encouraged to ring vintage crystal bells for a refill of Louis Roederer Cristal, which is £425 a bottle.
Greggs, which is headquartered in Newcastle, said its first-ever champagne bar paired its “iconic savoury menu of bakes and rolls” with handpicked bubbles served by the glass or bottle from famous names such as Bollinger Rosé and Laurent Perrier. It claims to be the only place in the area offering the exclusive champagne menu “by the glass”.
Mercifully the food is cheaper at under £5 for a main. In keeping with Greggs’ affordable ethos, there are cheaper bubbles to pair with a cheese and onion bake, such as a £10 glass of Ca di Alte prosecco or an £11 “pink jammie fizz” – a prosecco-based cocktail inspired by Greggs’ jam doughnuts.
With a design that pays homage to the Belle Epoque era, a period in French history characterised by beauty and joy, Greggs’ marketers say it has been “designed to feel decadent, mirroring art nouveau stylised details throughout”.
It is a step on from last year’s French dining experience, Bistro Greggs, which was also hosted at Fenwick and proved to be a hit. It attracted 8,000 covers during its limited run with diners enjoying the social media-friendly spectacle of being served steak bakes under a silver cloche.
The tie-up reunited two north-east icons, said Leo Fenwick, strategic partnerships director at Fenwick, which was founded in Newcastle in 1882. He said that after the success of last year’s pop-up, the champagne bar offered a “fun and truly unique costomer experience”.
The menu, created by the department store’s executive head chef, Mark Reid, pairs Greggs bakes with “in vogue” condiments. The steak bake is served with a creamy peppercorn aioli, while a sausage, bean and cheese melt is taken to new culinary heights with a bloody mary ketchup. Its famous sausage rolls are zhuzhed up with hot honey chilli sauce.
Hannah Squirrell, customer director at Greggs, conceded that “while champagne and Greggs might not be the most immediate food and drink pairing” that comes to mind, it is convinced the pop-up will be a hit with Christmas shoppers. “Hopefully everyone who visited us last year, and many more, will enjoy the fun and unique experience that’s been created,” she said.
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The champagne bar will open on 24 October and remain in place until 31 December.