Craft bakery businesses spanning the length of the country have unveiled new shops to tap into fresh customer bases.
Several are marking their inaugural ventures into bricks-and-mortar retail while others are expanding their estates, some with brand new concepts. There’s an expected hive of activity in the capital but other locations for openings include Herefordshire, East Anglia, Lancashire, and all the way up to the Scottish Highlands.
Check out more details of each site in the 16th round-up in the Opening Doors series as follows:
Bradwall Bakehouse, Sandbach
With growing demand for its artisan bakery offering around Cheshire, wholesale supplier Bradwall Bakehouse has expanded its base in Bradwall Village Hall near Sandbach with an onsite retail space dubbed ‘The Breadhouse’.
The company was established in April 2022, and has grown to currently supply over 25 businesses across the local area with a range that includes sourdough loaves, bread, focaccia, and brioche buns. Customers at The Breadhouse will also be able to enjoy artisan coffees and speciality teas, either inside the newly designed hall or outside in the tranquil garden.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on crafting authentic, handmade bread that tells a story, and The Breadhouse will allow us to offer our produce and refreshments to the community in a friendly and welcoming setting,” said Fiona Barlow, co-founder of Bradwall Bakehouse. “This is an exciting next step in our business, and it’s essential to us that, as we grow, we continue to stay true to our roots and the values that our customers love.”
Crunch, London
Premier sandwich brand Crunch has opened its first retail site in London’s Soho district, taking over the former Maitre Choux location on the corner of Dean Street and Old Compton Street.
Friends Sacha Yonan and Michael Medovnikov came up with the concept during lockdown, and subsequently joined forces with chef Joni Francisco to launch a pop-up in Hackney in 2022 followed by a kiosk at Old Spitalfields Market. According to the firm, the kiosk sells upwards of 15,000 sandwiches a month.
Crunch’s menu features a rotating range of sandwiches including staples from Spitalfields, all served in the brand’s ‘brioche-inspired’ bread produced in-house. Lunch options include the Patty Melt containing truffle beef patties, red Leicester cheese, crispy onion marmalade and black truffle mayo; the Katso Sando made with deep-fried tonkatsu pork, Japanese apple, raspberry jam, shredded hispi cabbage, and nori and shichimi togarashi mayo; and the Umami Shroomwich, which has fried oyster mushrooms, miso marinated vegetables, and nori and shichimi togarashi mayo. For dessert there are the likes of deep-fried French toast topped with sweet apple and mini chocolate chunks, served with a side of dulce de leche.
The shop, which features a large open kitchen, will offer both takeaway and eat in with seating for around 16 inside.
Ems & Co., Crieff
Emily Black has relocated her café business to the Perthshire town of Crieff after she “fell in love with the area” while working as a pastry chef at the five-star Cromlix Hotel in nearby Dunblane.
Black previously ran Ems & Co. in Dingwall up in the Scottish Highlands, but has now set up shop on King Street in Crieff where she crafts a daily range of pastries and cakes which changes fortnightly to keep it “seasonal and fresh”.
She told British Baker that she particularly enjoys making unusual products such as Korean bulgogi chicken pasties, Tunisian orange cake, raspberry & mahlab eclairs, and muhammara & ‘Nduja lattice tarts.
Haffners Eats, Burnley
This new food-to-go concept from 136-year-old pie maker Haffners brings a contemporary twist to classic fare, and is located in the former unit of Lancashire bakery chain Oddie’s at Burnley’s Network 65 business park.
Haffners Eats offers a selection of hot pies with peas and gravy, freshly filled sandwiches, handmade cakes, and globally inspired weekly specials – all made on-site from ingredients created from within its parent company, A&A Food Group, which also owns Whitesides Bakery in nearby Colne. There are no loaves among the bread products, though, just soft-textured items baked daily on-site using the firm’s traditional teacake dough.
Some of the newly created menu item sound like something straight out of a Roald Dahl novel. The Hash Bang Wallop features sausage patties, hash browns, and egg inside an English muffin, while the Wazzlebanger comprises a foot-long pork sausage, crispy bacon, cheese, chopped jalapenos, on a sub with a choice of sauce.
“It’s been crazy how many people have ordered a Hash Bang Wallop and Wazzlebanger based on the name, with no idea what it is,” noted Haffners director Ted Cockett, who took over the family-run business with his brother Dean in September 2022. “It’s certainly piqued interest, but the Haffners Meat & Potato Pie is and will always be the biggest seller for us.”
Harry Gow, Inverness
Back up in the Highlands, meanwhile, bakery chain Harry Gow has opened its latest outlet on Harbour Road in Inverness.
Having closed a shop across town in Fairways Business Park in March, the new site sees the firm bring its estate up to 18 once again, spread over the Highlands and Moray. It will serve Harry Gow’s range of freshly baked goods using finest local ingredients including favourite sweet treats like the cream-filled ‘Dream rings’, pineapple tarts, and marzipan apples, as well as curry pies, sandwiches and more.
“While we initially had doubts about whether it would be large enough to accommodate our needs, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results. With careful planning, we’ve created a space we’re confident our customers will love,” commented director David Gow, whose father and company founder Harry Gow passed away last December at the age of 89.
As is tradition with every new Harry Gow store, the first 100 customers through the doors on opening day received a free slice of birthday cake.
Hello Jojo, London
Similar to Don’t Tell Dad over in Queen’s Park, Hello Jojo is a new restaurant-bakery hybrid recently opened on Camberwell’s Church Street. Founded by locals Jo(Jo) Lavender and Rob Newlan, the all-day eatery features baked goods crafted by head baker Jo Garner, who previously had stints working in London at Mountain restaurant, Toad bakery, and e5 Bakehouse.
The product line-up includes freshly baked bread and sweet and savoury pastries, with thoughtful takes on old-school favourites using some creative flavour combinations – ranging from vegan vanilla buns and Chocolate Rye Swiss Roll to the likes of Pizza buns.
The design is headed by architect Stephen Harty and grounded in warmth and hospitality, paying homage to the diverse, creative community of Camberwell. Pieces from local artists and students at Camberwell Art College have been incorporated.
Maddy’s Bakery, Stevenage
Traditional Italian and Romanian pastries with a modern twist are the signature items at this new bakery located in The Glebe retail centre in Stevenage. It has been launched by Madalina Ioance, a Romanian native with a passion for bakery who grew up in Italy and has since moved to the UK and completed a professional pastry course.
The Maddy’s range includes bestsellers such as the vegan apple pie and Polish pretzel, while Ioance’s personal favourite is the Savaria, made from dough marinated in syrup with lemon zest and vanilla, boiled in rum, and finished with fresh cream and raspberry jelly. There’s also a limited selection of loaves including sourdough.
Peter Cooks Bread, Bromyard
Having relocated their Worcester shop across town to The Foregate earlier this year, Peter Cooks Bread has now unveiled a new retail outlet as part of its main production unit at Linton Trading Estate in Bromyard, which it describes as a “tap room for a bakery”.
It is selling the firm’s signature range of long-fermentation loaves and pastries along with light lunch options such as sandwiches, quiches, and baked potatoes. Founder Peter Cook – who won Baker of the Year at the Baking Industry Awards 2022 – told British Baker that the highlight products were “Almond Croissants to die for, genuine sourdough loaves made over three days, and our famous burger buns used by the UK’s best burger restaurants”.
The shop has been designed to have a natural feel whilst also reflecting the semi-industrial aspects of the building with wood, corrugated tin, and light fittings made from old whisks. Open Thursdays to Sundays, it is said to be well situated for walkers, cyclists, and leisure traffic using the A44 to access the Herefordshire countryside and into Wales.
Reemies, London
Cake specialist Reem Abu Samra has picked Chelsea’s Fulham Road for the first bricks-and-mortar site of her small batch bakery business, which she first set up in her London flat in 2018.
Included in the offering is the signature Banana Bundt, comprised of both ripened and fresh fairtrade Class 1 bananas, alongside other handmade cakes such as Mum’s Carrot Cake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Maple Pecan Pie and seasonal specials. Minis versions of cakes are available, while two-tier Flower or Piñata cakes can be ordered with personalised plaques. There are also Moorish bites like Banana & Chocolate Chip and Apple Crumble, as well as free-from bakes like Flourless Peanut Butter Brownie, Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie, and gluten-free Victoria Sponge.
The bakery features a vibrant pink and red, banana-themed exterior, while soft pastel yellow and pink are used throughout the interiors, lit up by ‘Reemies’ neon signage. A dining bar for eat-in customers features bundt-shaped stools.
“For as long as I can remember I have been feeding my banana cake to friends and family. I love that I am still doing that now,” commented Abu Samra.
Sourdough Sophia, London
This craft bakery business continues expanding from its North London base, backed by a £500k crowdfunding raise last summer.
Joining its original shop in Crouch End and production site and café in Islington is the new location inside BoxHall food court on Liverpool Street. The counter serves a daily range of signature N8 sourdough loaves together with monthly pastry specials such as the Rhubarb Bow, Cheese & Marmite Twist, Spinach Feta Swirl, Pistachio Financier, and the Blood Orange & Rosemary Danish (weekends only).
The company is set to open in its fourth shop in Highgate on 24 May, and will launch a fifth location in Hampstead next month. It is currently having a ‘major glow up’ at its Essex Road bakery in Islington including stealing seating space to extend the production area and updating equipment in support of its estate expansion.
White Horse Bakery, Holme-next-the-Sea
A new artisan bakery with a focus on small batch organic sourdough products and enticing viennoiserie has been created on the north Norfolk coast, on the site of Grade II-listed pub White Horse Holme.
This required a huge clearance job of an old stone barn, compounded by the need to keep the pub running and the caravan park next door on side. Behind the venture is Anglian Country Inns, which operates 10 establishments across East Anglia including the White Horse Holme and recently won Best Pub Employer (up to 500 employees) at the Publican Awards 2025, hosted by British Baker’s sister publication Morning Advertiser.
“Our baking philosophy hinges on the provenance of our ingredients, their locality and sustainability, but also a commitment to process, ‘doing it the right way’, the healthy way, the way it used to be done,” said head baker Toby Doy.
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