Lannan has reopened its bakery shop in Edinburgh after four weeks of renovations that created a new production area to help double its capacity.
The business, located on Hamilton Place in the Stockbridge area of the Scottish capital, recently placed third in the Bakers’ Dozen 2025 list of the top 13 artisan bakeries in the UK. It was founded by 27-year-old pastry chef Darcie Maher in July 2023 – Lannan being the Gaelic word for ‘house’.
The bakery is reported to regularly sell out its range of sweet and savoury pastries, cakes, and sandwiches on the four days it’s open during the week, with queues forming from as early as 6am.
Maher revealed that she had originally designed an open plan kitchen in her shop to accommodate just three staff. However, with the workforce upped to 14 to keep up with demand and bakers feeling increasingly uncomfortable from being photographed by customers while they worked, the decision was made to move production behind the scenes and to the lower ground floor which had been previously rented out to another firm.
The renovations were carried out in January by local firm Ossian Architects, and saw Lannan add two new walk-in fridges, a walk-in freezer, a large dry store, an office, and a lift that connects production to the shop floor above on street level. The new workspace will allow the bakery to craft double the amount of products it currently makes, whilst enabling it to open the shop five days a week.
Maher says she will also have an area to “properly develop new recipes and further broaden our offerings”. Eye-catching new menu items recently unveiled include the Rainier, Morello & Petit Noir Cherry Tart with pistachio custard, and the Rhubarb Rice Pudding & Pistachio Danish.
Lannan’s renovation is actually part two of three expansion phases, with the final stage coming up towards the end of this year. A storeroom currently holding excess equipment at the far end of the site is to be converted into a café restaurant adjacent to the bakery shop, providing a space for dine-in customers. “It’s going to be a completely new concept,” commented Maher. “We’re going for a rich green theme and completely different interiors.”
The success of the first shop has seen Maher entertaining ideas to open another branch, although she admits part of Lannan’s charm is that it is all contained in one little corner of Edinburgh. “I’d like to open another business in the future, but I don’t think it’ll be another Lannan,” added the young entrepreneur, who had a childhood dream of owning a bakery. Growing up in the Scottish borders, Maher left school at 15 to work as a chef and progressed to take in bakery job stints in Macclesfield at Flour Water Salt, and in Edinburgh at Twelve Triangles and The Palmerston.
No comments yet