From the south coast up to Scotland, and Wales over to the East Midlands, craft bakery businesses have unveiled new outlets all across the country.
Some are adding new sites as part of their growing estates – ranging from just two to as many as 62 – while others are making their first forays into UK retail.
Check out more details on the freshly-baked batch of nine new shops in the latest edition of our Opening Doors series:
Anna’s Bakery, Llangollen
Anna Samsonidze originally ran a bakery in her native Ukraine, but the war forced her to flee with her four children to the UK in 2022. She first set up her business in Wrexham, before moving it to the popular North Wales tourist town of Llangollen.
The cosy café with an on-site kitchen offers a selection of freshly made cakes, pastries, and artisan bread. There’s some Ukrainian favourites such as Syrnyky – pancakes made with cottage cheese – as well as Georgian recipes, like the boat-shaped cheese bread Adjaruli Khachapuri.
Samsonidze says it’s a real family effort, with all four kids helping out at the bakery too.
Birds Bakery, Ruddington
East Midlands chain Birds Bakery has added a 62nd location to its estate, in the village of Ruddington near Nottingham. The company’s refreshed branding is showcased in the interior colour scheme of spring green, warm grey, and doughnut pink, with both indoor and outdoor seating for customers.
A selection of new lunch items have been introduced, such as the Bird Club Filled Roll and the Ham & Tomato Cheese-Topped Bap, as well as some salad bowl options. The menu of flaky pastries, warm breads, and sweet treats is available via Uber Eats and Just Eat.
“As part of our wider commitment to supporting local areas, we’re also looking forward to engaging with community groups and exploring ways the store can serve as a welcoming space for people to connect,” commented joint managing director Jamie Bird.
E5 Storehouse, London
The team behind e5 Bakehouse and Poplar Bakehouse have opened a new café at V&A East Storehouse, a four-level public space which is part of the new East Bank cultural quarter in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Open for breakfast and lunch, plus Thursday and Saturday evenings, e5 Storehouse offers a seasonal menu that spans pastries, sandwiches, and salads, with vegan and gluten free options too. Every bakery product contains at least 50% flour from wheat harvested at the firm’s farm, Fellows Farm in Suffolk, which is then milled at e5 Bakehouse under the arches of London Fields Overground station in Hackney.
Each month, a new special tart is unveiled at e5 Storehouse – kicking things off in June was the Salted Caramelised Nut Tart.
“Alongside artisanal baking, e5 Bakehouse has always been interested in design and sustainability,” said managing director Louise Lateur. “We’ve worked closely with V&A East Storehouse to design a cafe that inspires creativity and communal dining.”
Mammy Pancake, London
This new shop in Portobello Road in London’s Notting Hill district marks the international franchise debut of the Hong Kong street food brand, which has been recognised by Michelin for six consecutive years. Signature items are the bubble waffles (aka egg puffs) featuring nostalgic flavour combos.
The UK franchise is led by long-time friends Donald Lai and Brendan Ho, who have backgrounds in investment banking, consulting, and hospitality. Their mission with Mammy Pancake is two-fold: introduce bubble waffles to UK consumers and offer a nostalgic taste of home to the local Hong Kong diaspora.
“We’re not just bringing a product over — we’re bringing a culture and a legacy. And this is just the beginning,” said Lai. “We hope to open additional locations and make Mammy Pancake a household name across the UK.”
Customers at the new London outlet can expect the likes of the Original and Earl Grey bubble waffles, alongside UK exclusives including Crème Brulee, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Pistachio.
Panadera, London
Filipino bakery Panadera has opened its second location in the capital, with its new site on Hopkins Street in Soho joining its Marylebone shop. The business was founded by Florence Mae Maglanoc in 2021, and is now one of the flagship concepts behind London-based hospitality group 1996 Group.
Panadera’s all-day offering is said to be rooted in Filipino baking traditions, reimagined for the London café culture. Bestsellers among its core range include Pandesal (soft milk buns), Corned Beef Hash Sandos (sandwiches on milk bread), and pasties infused with the likes of ube (purple yam) or calamansi (citrus fruit).
Despite being in a tourist hotspot, the bakery is intentionally designed got Londoners as a quiet escape from a busy neighbourhood with seating for 16. The company revealed short-term plans to open one new site per year up to a maximum of five, which would allow it to expand sustainably while protecting the quality, consistency, and identity of the brand.
Real Patisserie, Brighton
A fifth outlet at Brighton train station has been added to the Real Patisserie estate, which spans the south coast including Hove and Worthing. Just like Auntie Anne’s did in Cheshire Oaks, the new site sees a shipping container converted into a kiosk for takeaway purchases of bread, sandwiches, pastries, and cakes. Design elements include glass displays units on marble, and solid beech wood bread shelves at the back.
The brand is probably best known for its Chewy Brown – a lightly malted and soured, bulk fermented loaf which is not moulded but turned twice and cut before baking as one would a ciabatta. Almond croissants and levain-based sourdough loaves have also been selling strong in recent years.
Real Patisserie was founded in 1997 by Alastair Gourlay, starting life as a single shop on Trafalgar Street in the North Laine area near Brighton station. With retail and wholesale business continuing to grow, it made the move three years ago to invest £1.5m on a new 10,800 sq ft central bakery down the road in Southwick. Stone-baked breads and finished patisserie are produced there and delivered daily to its five shops and around 250 wholesale customers.
Sourdough Sophia, London
Located in Highgate, the craft bakery brand’s fourth venture – as part of its crowdfunded expansion drive across London – feels like a homecoming according to Jesse Sutton-Jones, who co-founded the business with his wife Sophia Handschuh.
“When Sophia and I moved to London, we lived in Kentish Town, spending weekends exploring local shops and parks,” he commented. “I grew up here, taking music lessons at William Ellis School and grabbing sausage butties at the farmers market as a teen.”
The couple are also parents to two young children and have made the Highgate shop family-friendly with baby-changing stations, colouring sheets, and special treats for kids. “We welcome dogs, too, with water and biscuits on hand,” added Sutton-Jones.
The site is stocked with signature sourdough breads, made with organic, UK-grown flour, plus a rotating range of hand-laminated pastries – all are produced at Sourdough Sophia’s Essex Road bakery, which recently had its production area expanded as a third site at BoxHall food court went live. Next up is a fifth shop over in Hamstead.
Twelve Triangles, Melrose
Ediburgh-based bakery has opened the doors to another shop in the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders. Situated on Market Square, the new café offers a larger space for dine-in customers including a dedicated area for young families.
A selection of sourdough ciabatta sandwiches, scones, and pastries are available from the expansive counter, while customers can also order Twelve Triangles’ takes on classic comfort food like Sourdough Cheese Toasties and House Baked Beans on Sourdough Toast. There’s also the likes of signature Croissant Biscotti, seasonally-changing jams, and other homemade brunch staples.
The shop is flooded with natural light thanks to large arched windows and the walls are painted deep ochre to bring a warm, relaxed and cosy feel. Most of the furniture has been sourced from local antique dealers, with a standout draper’s table acting as a pastry counter as a nod to the heritage of the mills in the Scottish Borders. Twelve Triangles was established by Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan a decade ago. Each of its seven shops in Edinburgh are to undergo refurbishment complete with a new logo featuring a slice of sourdough.
Willows Bakehouse, Chester-le-Street
An aim of bringing something different to the town of Chester-le-Street in County Durham has proven successful for Willows Bakehouse. In the days that followed its opening earlier this month, the shop sold out its range of stotties (Northeast bread staple), brownies, pies, muffins, and cakes.
The business was founded by Lauren Cox and Debbie Brown, who became friends after Cox set up a bakery five years ago with Brown’s café being one of her wholesale customers. Willows is current running as a takeout service only but has plans to open a ‘secret garden’ type area out the back of the shop, which will be dog-friendly.
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