Developers behind Gloucester Food Dock have revealed the first three food and drink businesses set to move into the new £3.5m waterfront dining destination.

Sibling Distillery, Strip Steak Bar and Wholly Gelato will be among 15 businesses to welcome customers when the development opens in Summer 2022.

A cocktail and champagne bar from the team behind Cheltenham-based Sibling Distillery hopes to bring a touch of the Riviera to the docks with classic cocktails, craft beers and sparkling wines on offer as well as local and continental drinks, tasting evenings and happy hours.

Owned and managed by two brothers and two sisters, the Siblings are said to have a strong background in the drinks industry and the bar at Gloucester Food Dock - their first - is the culmination of a long-held dream.

"We've been talking about opening our first bar for a while now, and the pandemic gave us plenty of time to daydream," said Felix Elliott-Berry, the eldest of the Siblings.

"We see enormous potential in the docks area and when we heard about the plans for the Food Dock it took us no time at all to realise this will be the perfect place for us. Gloucester is a lively and exciting city and there is certainly an appetite for a fun, vibrant place to go for a great cocktail, a carafe of wine or a local beer in a beautiful setting.

"The sunset and water views are an added bonus and fit in perfectly with the vibe we aim to create. We're really excited to be alongside some other great producers and can't wait to see the full line up."

Joining Sibling Distillery will be the Strip Steak Bar. Desccribed as an exciting new fast service concept, the outfit promises 'premium quality certified black Angus strip loin served rapidly to your liking'.

Chef and co-founder Arthur Knights has worked in some of the world's top Michelin restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay's. His signature dishes include Premium Sirloin Strip Steak with beef dripping fries and Strip Steak Wrap with crispy onions and Cheddar sauce, as well as a non-meat option featuring his special vegan steak.

Co-founder Ross Sanders said: "Taking Strip to Gloucester Food Dock was an obvious decision for us as it's a premium site in an exciting city - it sits with our brand and ethos perfectly. We're very excited to be part of it."

Last but not least - family-run Wholly Gelato will also open an ice cream parlour at Gloucester Food Dock.

Made on the farm from milk produced by the family's own free-range herd at Elmore near Gloucester, the business has gained a reputation for its innovative flavours and natural ingredients. Wholly Gelato plan to open a traditional ice cream parlour at the Food Dock, offering Gelato scoops and shakes, ice cream sundaes, sodas, cakes, confectionery and takeaway tubs.

Will Lee of Wholly Gelato's Hobbs family said: "As a small, family-run business with proud Gloucestershire roots, we're all so thrilled to be launching our first Gelato Bar within Gloucester Food Dock, a project which brings yet more regeneration to the Docks but which also upholds values which we are so passionate about ourselves - quality, local, artisan food."

"We look forward to further diversifying our range of milk and gelato-based products, and to standing alongside other local food producers, to create a standout food-hub in the heart of our great city."

The Gloucester Food Dock project has been dubbed as a new neighbourhood for the city where a community of creative, passionate and skilled food and drink businesses will have the opportunity to showcase what they do best.

Developers Ladybellegate Estates, led by Ken Elliot and Sarah Mansfield, hope this will result in a new and exciting 'foodie' destination in the heart of the city, with a dynamic mix of tasty, independently produced food with something for everyone - coffee, brunch, lunch or dinner, seven days a week.

Once complete, the development will be home to 15 independent food and drink businesses drawn from Gloucestershire and the surrounding regions and is expected to create up to 120 jobs.

Overlooking Victoria Basin at the bottom of Southgate Street, the Gloucester Food Dock site extends and refurbishes two 19th century brick buildings, and will incorporate external dining terraces and stand-alone wooden-clad units to create a range of premises of different sizes and configurations.

Sarah Mansfield said: "We're really thrilled to introduce these three very different food concepts which are excellent examples of the type of creative businesses we're looking for, and which totally encapsulate the ethos of Gloucester Food Dock.

"They are all family businesses with a strong emphasis on high quality, creative fresh food and sustainability - and what they each deliver is exceptional."

Ken Elliott added: "We're very excited to welcome them into the Food Dock family - the first of many more to come! We're also keen to hear from other food & drink businesses so please get in touch if you have an exciting food concept you'd like to talk to us about."