Cow & Sow to Open Flax Bourton Farm Shop in 2026

Key Points

• New Hospitality Venue: The husband-and-wife founders behind Bristol steakhouse brand Cow & Sow are launching a new farm shop, cafe, and bar named The Field Farmshop & Kitchen.
• Derelict Site Revitalisation: The new site will occupy the former Dew Drop Inn (later known as The Jubilee) in Flax Bourton, Somerset, which has stood shuttered for over three years.
• Hyper-Local Produce: Situated on nearly an acre of land, the enterprise sits directly opposite Cow & Sow’s recently established Kitchen Farm, which will supply fresh, home-grown produce daily.
• Retail & Dining Offering: The development features a farm shop stocking bakery items, butchery, dairy, homewares, and a florist, alongside a 70-seater interior restaurant and a 40-seat outdoor terrace.
• Future Expansion Plans: A second phase will introduce event spaces, a test kitchen, and a cookery school offering masterclasses in over-fire cooking.
• Target Opening: The venue is scheduled to open its doors to the public in autumn 2026.

Bristol (Bristol Express News) August 11, 2026 – The team behind the Bristol-born steakhouse group Cow & Sow has announced plans to convert a long-disused Somerset pub into a rural food and dining venue. Husband and wife founders Mark and Amy Warburton are set to open The Field Farmshop & Kitchen this autumn on the site of the former Dew Drop Inn in Flax Bourton. The property, which sits on nearly an acre of countryside land along the main transport corridor between Bristol and North Somerset, has remained closed for more than three years.

The launch marks a significant step in the expansion of the Cow & Sow brand, extending its footprint beyond city-centre steakhouse dining and into hyper-local agricultural retail, day-time hospitality, and culinary education.

Located directly across the road from Cow & Sow’s Kitchen Farm—a market garden initiative established earlier this year—the venue will serve as a direct pipeline for field-to-plate produce, serving both local residents and visitors traveling through the region.

What Can Visitors Expect from The Field Farmshop & Kitchen?

The Field Farmshop & Kitchen has been designed as a multi-functional destination combining food retail, day-time dining, and social gathering space.

At the heart of the retail operation will be the farm shop, which will stock fruits and vegetables harvested daily from the Kitchen Farm opposite. To complement the home-grown yield, the shop will feature:

• Freshly baked artisanal bread and pastries
• Local dairy products and pantry staples
• A dedicated butchery counter operated in partnership with Cow & Sow’s established British meat suppliers
• An onsite florist
• A curated section dedicated to gifts, kitchenware, and homewares

Integrated alongside the shop is a 70-seater indoor cafe and restaurant, open daily from morning until 6:00 pm, with extended evening hours on selected dates. The culinary team will prepare a menu focusing on seasonal produce, featuring breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes including quiches, fresh salads, soups, and traditional ploughman’s platters.

Beverage service will feature specialty coffee supplied by Bristol-based uk/local/clifton/">Clifton Coffee Roasters, alongside a fully licensed bar serving wines, spirits, and regional craft beers.

Externally, timber decking positioned behind the main building will provide outdoor seating for a further 40 guests, offering views across the surrounding North Somerset countryside.

Who Is Behind the Transformation of the Flax Bourton Site?

The development is led by hospitality entrepreneurs Mark and Amy Warburton. Having successfully established Cow & Sow as a premium steakhouse brand with high-profile venues in Bristol’s Clifton and Queen Square—as well as expanding into Birmingham—the pair are expanding their operational focus toward sustainable, local supply chain integration.

Founder Mark Warburton stated that the expansion represents a natural progression for the brand following the launch of their agricultural site earlier in the year:

“It’s been a really exciting start to the year for us, we’ve already introduced our Kitchen Farm and now Amy and I are bringing The Field Farmshop & Kitchen into the wider family. We’re passionate about using and growing the very best produce in our restaurants and sourcing it from as locally as possible, and we want to share that passion with the people of Bristol and beyond.”

Warburton emphasised the goal of restoring a sense of community focus to the long-vacant commercial property:

“I really want this space to become a place to gather, enjoy and celebrate for locals and visitors and we’re already working with our friends at Clifton Coffee Roasters, Walter Rose & Son, Roam Catering and Somerset Grill Co to make sure we’re able to offer something really special. We can’t wait to welcome people through the doors this autumn.”

What Are the Long-Term Phase Two Plans for the Venue?

Beyond the initial autumn opening of the farm shop and cafe, Cow & Sow has outlined plans for a second phase of development on the upper floor and grounds of the property.

Phase two will introduce dedicated meeting and private event spaces available for corporate and personal hire. Additionally, the first floor will house a commercial test kitchen and cookery school.

The cookery school will offer structured courses and culinary masterclasses, utilizing both internal kitchen facilities and specialized over-fire cooking gear installed on the outdoor terrace.

For this element of the business, Cow & Sow is collaborating with regional industry specialists, including Ross Anderson of Roam Catering—a recognized judge for the World Steak Challenge—and Ben Naylor of the Somerset Grill Company.

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What Is the Background to Cow & Sow and the Former Dew Drop Inn Site?

The transformation of the Flax Bourton site comes against the backdrop of changing consumer dynamics in both the UK pub trade and the farm-to-table dining market.

The commercial property occupied by The Field Farmshop & Kitchen has a varied commercial history. Operating historically as the Dew Drop Inn, a traditional public house serving the village of Flax Bourton and commuters on the A370 route, the site later underwent a rebrand as The Jubilee.

However, like many rural and suburban public houses across the United Kingdom facing shifting trade patterns, high operational costs, and changing drinking habits, the business ceased trading and the premises have sat empty and shuttered for over three years.

Concurrently, Cow & Sow has established itself as one of the West of England’s notable independent restaurant brands.

Founded by Mark Warburton, the brand carved out a niche in Bristol’s competitive food scene by offering high-end, prime British steak cuts, contemporary side dishes, and refined interior design.

The original location in Clifton was followed by a flagship site on Queen Square in Bristol city centre, before expanding regionally into Birmingham.

In recent years, hospitality operators have increasingly sought to de-risk their supply chains and meet rising consumer demand for provenance and sustainability by investing directly in primary food production.

Cow & Sow initiated this strategy by launching Kitchen Farm in Flax Bourton—a dedicated agricultural plot designed to supply their urban steakhouse locations with fresh vegetables, herbs, and microgreens.

Acquiring the former Dew Drop Inn directly across the road presented a logical opportunity to turn the farming operation into a public-facing venue, bridging the gap between direct agriculture, retail, and hospitality.

How Will This Development Impact Local Residents, Farmers, and the Hospitality Industry?

The arrival of The Field Farmshop & Kitchen is anticipated to have several distinct effects on local residents, regional food producers, and the wider North Somerset economy.

For residents of Flax Bourton and surrounding villages such as Backwell and Long Ashton, the project resolves a long-standing issue regarding a prominent derelict site.

Disused pub buildings often become focal points for vandalism or visual decay; converting the nearly one-acre plot back into an active commercial property restores community utility.

While the site will no longer function primarily as a drinking pub, the inclusion of a 70-seat cafe, bar, and outdoor terrace provides a replacement social hub for local gatherings.

By combining its own market garden output with products from regional butchery partners like Walter Rose & Son and local bakeries, the venue establishes a resilient regional distribution hub.

Small-scale food producers in Somerset often struggle with direct-to-consumer distribution channels; The Field Farmshop & Kitchen offers a consistent, high-footfall retail showcase for local agricultural goods.

The operational scope of the venue—spanning retail, baking, butchery, floristry, front-of-house hospitality, and culinary instruction—will generate new full-time and part-time jobs in the rural North Somerset area.

Recruitment drive notices indicate roles ranging from general management to supervisory and kitchen positions, contributing to the local employment base outside Bristol’s urban core.

Within the broader UK hospitality sector, Cow & Sow’s integration of farming, retail, dining, and education serves as a case study in brand diversification.

As traditional restaurant operations face tight profit margins due to rising energy, labor, and ingredient costs, expanding into daytime farm shop operations and experiential masterclasses allows brand operators to capture multiple revenue streams from a single real estate asset.