The Banks family, Matthew Lockwood and the Tommy Banks Group are excited to announce the forthcoming launch of a pub with rooms in North Yorkshire in late Spring. The new venture, close to their Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan, will exhibit the hyper-local, sustainably focused ethos for which the Tommy Banks Group is renowned, with the famous grown and reared produce from the family’s farm in Oldstead taking centre stage.
The coming months will see more details of the pub revealed, including date of launch and location. For now, the team is busy working on a refresh of the historic site, with a state-of-the-art kitchen, relaxed dining room and cosy bar area equipped with roaring fires and a bar stocked with the team’s favourites (including, of course, the Group’s very own Banks Brothers canned wine). The food-focused pub will include a number of rooms, in addition to dining, and two-night packages will be available for guests to experience the magic of The Black Swan, as well as the pub, as part of their North Yorkshire sojourn.
As ever, The Tommy Banks Group is devoted to employing those passionate about hospitality, sustainability and seasonality. The new launch comes with a number of job openings within the Group, and Tommy would be thrilled to hear from those interested in joining the team (you can find more information at www.tommybanks.co.uk/vacancies).
Website: https://www.tommybanks.co.uk/ Instagram: @tommybanks Twitter: @tommybanks8
About the Tommy Banks Group:
The Tommy Banks Group is a sustainable-focused hospitality business comprising two Michelin-starred restaurants (The Black Swan, Oldstead, and Roots, York), a premium nationwide food box delivery and events service (Made in Oldstead) and canned wine venture (Banks Brothers).
The business is rooted in the Banks’ family’s farming heritage in Oldstead. The family bought The Black Swan in August 2006. Parents Tom and Anne, along with sons Tommy and James, transformed the site over the years into the Michelin-starred destination with rooms that it is today. The restaurant continues to thrive, having been awarded numerous accolades over the years, including a Michelin Green Star, Four AA Rosettes, AA 5 stars and more.
Some years later, the family, along with business partner Matthew Lockwood, opened Roots in Yorks in September 2018. As at The Black Swan, the menu evolves naturally and gradually as produce from and around the farm in Oldstead becomes available to the team. In January 2021, Roots became the first restaurant in York to win a coveted Michelin star and was voted Best Restaurant by the prestigious Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2022.
The pandemic saw the Tommy Banks Group need to pivot, to find a use for the produce emerging from the farm daily and keep the team occupied. The Group launched a third arm to the business with premium nationwide finish-at-home delivery service, Made in Oldstead. The delivery business now operates out of its own production unit and sells hundreds of meals every month in addition to charcuterie produced from the Banks farm, homemade seasonal sweet treats and hampers with local produce.
In July 2021 they launched Banks Brothers, a canned wine brand working with small-scale growers across the globe with a clear identity and personality. The limited edition batches are available online and served in both restaurants. With the cans being widely-recyclable and obtaining a lower carbon footprint than bottles when shipping, Banks Brothers enhances the Group’s all encompassing commitment to sustainability.
About Tommy Banks:
Champion of seasonal and sustainable food, Tommy was 24 when he became the youngest Michelin-starred chef in Britain when The Black Swan retained its star in September 2013. Tommy competed on BBC 2’s Great British Menu in both 2016 and 2017, with his fish dishes making it through to the banquet in both years. He has since returned as a judge to the show and his debut book ‘Roots’ was published on 5th April 2018. Most recently in February 2023 Tommy launched a podcast, Seasoned, in collaboration with producers What’s The Story, looking at the ins and outs of running one of the UK’s most renowned sustainable restaurants.
For more information please contact CRAB Communications on oldstead@crabcommunications.com