By ELOISE WALTON [email protected]
Longer opening hours, a tweaked menu and daily homemade specials are part of the new plans announced for Bar Bacchus at Porches Pottery, which is under new management.
British residents John and Susan Thorp, who moved to the region more than three years ago, have taken over the management of the café from the previous owner Morag Richardson.
Susan Thorp told the Algarve Resident: “We found out that the business was for sale through a friend. We weren’t looking to run a café bar but once we thought about it, we became really excited and now it’s ours.”
The business is a new venture for the couple, whose two children Declan, 17 and Emma, 15, go to the Algarve International School nearby. “John worked in banking in London and I have experience of bar and restaurant work from the UK,” she said. “It gives us a project as our children are growing up.”
Having taken over Bar Bacchus, Susan has extended the hours so that the business is open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5.30pm and Saturdays from 10am until 3pm. “We are now open for breakfast from 9am so that parents can pop in for a coffee or something to eat in the morning after dropping the children off at school,” she said.
As well as tweaking the menu to include some new items such as bacon baguettes at breakfast, a ploughman’s lunch, chicken tikka salad and Coronation chicken jacket potato, Susan is also featuring daily homemade treats for clients.
“I will be making a fresh soup, a quiche and baking a different cake each day,” she said. “We want to keep the atmosphere relaxed and informal but with good quality food all year round.”
Bar Bacchus may also soon be opening a few evenings a week, with live music entertainment.
“We are looking to open on a few evenings with perhaps a tapas menu and also have some jazz evenings,” said Susan.
For more information or to book a table at Bar Bacchus, please contact Susan Thorpe on 916 432 816.
