New shops have been revealed by craft bakery businesses across the nation, including brand new ventures and estate expansions.
Locations range from the southeast and London to the West Country, Wales and northwest, over to Northumberland and continuing into Scotland.
We’ve now hit a score of Opening Doors round-ups, so check out the new sites making the list in the 20th edition:
Abba Cakes, Chester
The Wirral-based business behind The Chocolate Cake – named Britian’s Best Cake 2025 – has opened a new café and shop in Chester, adding to its original site up the M53 in Hoylake which opened three years ago. Colombian-born founder Laura Alejandro had revealed the expansion move back in April after collecting her winner’s trophy.
The new outlet, located on Lower Bridge Street in Chester, features a signature pastel pink façade with a bright and welcoming interior. Customers can choose from a selection of handmade cake slices, cupcakes, brownies, and brookies.
“This is more than just opening another shop. It’s about creating a space where you’ll walk in and instantly feel joy, magic, and a little bit of Abba Cakes’ heart in every detail,” wrote the company on its Instagram page.
Bayne’s The Family Bakers, Glasgow
The Scottish bakery chain – currently celebrating its 70th year of family-run operations – has opened its 72nd shop, located in Glasgow’s vibrant and historic West End district.
The site on Great Western Road, close to Anniesland train station, joins the Lochore-based company’s six other retail outlets in the city and is creating 18 new jobs. It marks the latest step in Bayne’s strategic expansion into high footfall areas and retail parks, following the likes of its first drive-thru in Hillington in 2021 and the introduction of a new mobile app earlier this year.
“Glasgow has become a hugely important part of our story,” noted Bayne’s joint managing director John Bayne, part of the third generation of family owners. “The city has welcomed Bayne’s with incredible warmth, and we’re delighted to be bringing our fresh baking to Anniesland. Creating new local jobs and continuing to invest here remains a key priority for us.”
Bridge Baker, Olympia, London
Fulham-based artisan bakery has moved outside of its SW6 neighbourhood to open a third location on Hammersmith Road, opposite the historic Olympia exhibition hall.
An open-plan kitchen allows customers to watch the bakers at work, creating various loaves, cakes, pizzas, and pastries from scratch including signature lines such as pumpkin sourdough, focaccia sandwiches, and giant meringue swirls.
Bridge Baker was founded in 2019 by former banker Gauri Nafrey, with its original site on Wandsworth Bridge Road joined four years later by a second outlet on Fulham Road. The current mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham, Councillor Sharon Holder, attended the official opening event of the new Olympia bakery, helping cut the ribbon.
Cinnamon Square, Rickmansworth
Coinciding with its 20th anniversary celebrations, Cinnamon Square has added a third ‘Bread Shed’ outside its production site on Highfield Way in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The trio of wooden units are stocked with freshly baked breads, cinnamon buns, croissants and other popular bakes. The honesty system has customers paying for products in cash or via its website – it essentially serves as the company’s retail outlet having moved out of its original bakery café nearby on Church Street in 2023.
The business also has a mobile bakery truck, dubbed Cin’dee, which supports participation at local markets and events.
One of Cinnamon Square’s most popular products which still regularly sells out is its Botanical Bread which won the Bakery Innovation Award in 2018 among its haul of five Baking Industry Awards trophies over the years. The loaf utilises fermented apple water instead of sourdough culture or yeast, which does not impart any flavour but helps keep it moist inside whilst retaining a crispy crust.
Like the previous firm in this list, it has a policy of allowing customers to witness production. “From day one, we wanted to create a bakery where people could see, smell and taste real craft baking,” said co-founder Paul Barker, who co-founded the firm with his partner Tricia. “That commitment to transparency and quality has been the backbone of Cinnamon Square for 20 years.”
Coughlans Bakery, Horsham
Just a few short months after opening its 31st site in Horsham, Southeast bakery chain Coughlans has unveiled a 32nd shop across town in the vibrant Piries Place area. Located in a pedestrianised section, it has outdoor seating for customers wanted to snaffle their purchases immediately.
MD Sean Coughlan was at hand on opening day to give away £1,000 worth of free doughnuts.
The new shop serves a bakery range that predominantly features plant-based bakes, something which helped attract vegan TV comedian Romesh Ranganathan into becoming a part owner last year. There are also plenty of Christmas-themed goodies rolled out recently in Horsham and across the Coughlans estate, such as Double Rum Dipped Stollen, Mince Pie Flapjack Bites, Butterscotch Candy Cane Yum Yums, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Gingerbread, Melting Snowmen Biscuits, and Grinch Doughnuts.
Docker Bakery, Ashford
The Folkestone-based business has continued its expansion following last year’s move to a bigger production unit with onsite retail space. It has now opened a new shop a few miles up the M20 in Ashford.
As a plant-based bakery specialist, Docker’s range includes sourdough loaves, pastries, and seasonal treats. It has twice been named a finalist in the Free From Bakery Product of the Year category – in 2024 for its Vegan Rhubarb & Custard Cruffin, and this year for its Vegan Sweet Potato Brioche Burger Bun. The shop on Ashford’s New Street will also serve coffee in partnership with Margate-based Curve Coffee Roasters.
Wes Burden and Pete Nelson co-founded Docker in 2016 inside a repurposed shipping container on Folkestone Harbour Arm. “Opening in Ashford feels like a natural step for us,” said Burden. “It’s a town with incredible momentum, and we’re proud to be contributing to that growth. Ashford has a buzzing food culture, and we can’t wait to share our bread and coffee with a new community.”
Leola, Stroud
Andy Strang, who founded the Bread By Bike Sourdough Bakery in north London in 2017, was drawn back to his native West Country three years ago and began the search for a new business location. Now he and his wife Ruth Batham have launched Leola bakery on Stroud High Street, with the name a portmanteau of their two daughters’ names.
The venture sees them breathe new life into one of the few remaining 17th century buildings in the centre of town. The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday, with baking done on premises. Its takeaway offering includes bread and pastries while light breakfast and lunch options, cakes, and beverages can be enjoyed inside, with seating for around 25 people.
Local firms have been enlisted to complete the look of the shop, including design agency Dapple and architect Settle Studio, while Batham is curating a rolling programme of artworks. Leola also looks to source ingredients locally – Strand has built links with the South West Grain Network, a community of farmers and millers that ensure traceability from field to fork. Coffee comes from Somerset Roundhill Roastery.
The Park Bakery, Bristol
A new shop in the Bristol district of Bedminster sees The Park Bakery double up its retail estate. The signature green façade has been duplicated for the new location on North Street, with the interior adopting an industrial but rustic feel, utilising old scaffold boards for table tops and featuring black painted beams and columns.
The company produces its range of breads, savouries, cakes, and sweet treats at its original site around a mile away on St John’s Lane, which has recently extended into an adjacent unit for extra storage space. The menu is regularly updated with limited-edition lines such as the sesame spelt loaf and Biscoff cheesecake, as well as various flavours of croissant cake.
The Park Bakery management revealed they currently hold the keys to a third shop in the city, with fitout expected to be completed by next month.
Pink Lane Bakery, Morpeth
The Newcastle upon Tyne-based bakery firm has expanded its retail estate for the first time since 2022 with a fourth shop, located in the Northumberland town of Morpeth.
This has been supported by a move earlier this year into a new 2,200 sq ft production unit at Baker’s Yard business park in Newcastle’s Gosforth district – built on the site of the original Greggs bakery.
First founded by Neil Le Flohic in 2012 under the name Sugar Down Bakery, the business took on its current name after the original city centre site on Pink Lane, close to the central railway station. It has since grown to open another shop in the old fire station on Gosforth High Street, and on Acorn Road in Jesmond.
Best-selling items among its range include almond croissants, breakfast pastries, mini iced cakes, pancetta and rosemary sausage rolls, and Pink Lane sourdough loaves. Two new jobs have been created at the Morpeth shop, as well as two back at the production site.
Saint Hugo, Swansea
Pastry chef Benjamin Condé, who appeared on Bake Off: The Professionals in 2022 and 2024, has had a busy past eight months opening three Saint Hugo bakery shops in Wales. The latest sites in the Uplands suburb of Swansea adds to stores in his hometown of Llanelli and at St Mary’s Square in Swansea.
Condé described his latest outlet as “simple, welcoming, and full of great food”. It serves a range of croissants, pain au chocolat, cinnamon buns, cookies and more, along with signature house coffee and top-quality local dairy. “Everything’s made with care, packed with flavour, and true to the Saint Hugo experience,” added the pastry chef, who named his business after a street in Nice which he visited regularly whilst training in France.
One of the new products recently launched was the Plum & Cassis Bostok, a pastry made from twice-baked brioche with an oat crumble featuring spiced plum, blackcurrant compote, crème pâtissière, and autumn spice glaze. Festive lines more recently unveiled include the Pecan Pain au Chocolat with Valrhona chocolate and maple syrup, the Gingerbread and Rye Cookies with white chocolate chips, and the Pain Suisse with turkey, stuffing, cranberry, sage, béchamel and Cheddar.
St John in Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden
The Neal’s Yard bakery branch of the London restaurant group founded by chef Fergus Henderson has outgrown its previous site and moved across the courtyard to a bigger premises. This is split over two floors with seating areas in both, as well as outside.
The menu continues to hinge around bakery, including breads, sandwiches, doughnuts, and Eccles cakes, but with a new bar it evolves throughout the day – ranging from early morning bakery delights and coffees to a daily changing list of quintessential dishes served from midday until late.
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