Source, the delicatessen, café and restaurant in the heart of Bristol’s St Nicholas Market, has been put on the market.
Director Joe Wheatcroft and his colleagues said it was time to look for new opportunities. Source, pictured, is now being marketed by leisure property specialists Fleurets, which said demand for restaurants in Bristol remained strong despite recent high-profile closures. 
Source has operated successfully for nine years, becoming a fixture in St Nicks Market and gaining a strong reputation among foodies in the city and beyond.
Joe Wheatcroft said: “We are not closing! We are selling a profitable business which has a great reputation for selling the best in ethically sourced, high-quality food in the food hall and in the café.
“We have taken the business a long way in nine years and have had a lot of fun, we feel now is the right time to move on to other projects.
“Having been trading for this long we don’t see ourselves as part of the ‘bubble’ so often talked about with regards to the new Bristol food scene. We have seen a lot of changes during our time here.
“Indeed, not long before we started Source Jay Rayner called Bristol a food desert so we are older than any media created ‘bubble’. The Bristol food scene is alive, kicking and amongst the best in the country.
“We have worked with some lovely staff, suppliers and customers and consider ourselves blessed to have such a lively and fun place which we call work. It has been tough at times with long hours and small margins, but we have persevered in bringing something special to people who really care about where their food comes from and how it has been cared for.
“We have tried to do the right thing from the start. An independently owned and run food business is pretty hard to find especially with this range of goods. We have used our money wisely and reinvested in the business all the way along. We have paid all our taxes, treated customers, staff and suppliers with respect.
“We have reduced our food waste, our packaging and our footprint with regards to CO2 emissions. We have introduced bees to the centre of town and have promoted healthy eating, proper cooking, seasonality and locality to a part of town where nothing like this existed before.”
Fleurets head of urban markets Kevin Conibear said: “Demand for restaurants in Bristol remains strong. Whilst undoubtedly there are venues that have not worked, or have become unviable from a cost perspective, the food scene in Bristol is phenomenal.
“We continue to receive multiple bids for city centre and neighbourhood properties, from both established operators and new chefs and operators who are struggling to find an opportunity in Bristol. Source is unique in terms of its location, with high footfall, great trading space and the team have established a well-known venue in the city centre.”
