High street bakers Greggs is set to open a champagne bar where its famous bakes will be served with £75-a-glass champagne in bespoke sausage roll-etched coupes.
The new bar opens next week in the Newcastle branch of Fenwick and is inspired by 1920s Paris wine bars
Guests will be encouraged to ring vintage crystal bells for a refill of Louis Roederer Cristal, which costs £425 a bottle.
The food, gracefully, will be much cheaper at under £5 for a main, and there is cheaper alternatives available for those who think £75 is a bit steep for a glass of bubbly.
The new bar is a step up 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.
Leo Fenwick, the strategic partnerships director at Fenwick, which was founded in Newcastle in 1882, said the tie-up reunited two north-east icons.
He said that after the success of last year’s pop-up, the champagne bar offered a “fun and truly unique customer 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.
Greggs’ famous sausage rolls are zhuzhed up with hot honey chilli sauce.
Hannah Squirrell, a 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 was convinced the pop-up would 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.
The champagne bar will open on 24 October and remain in place until 31 December.
