Helping meet demand for quality fresh bakery in key locations are new stores opened by craft bakery brands nationwide.
Among these are a quartet of companies adding a fifth site to their estates, a couple doubling up on shops, while just one is a brand-new venture. Locations range from London up to Edinburgh, and from Cardiff over to Leicester and York. Sourdough loaves, pastries, and sweet treats galore!
Check out our latest openings round-up featuring ten new bakery shops and cafes below:
Astrid Atelier, London
Astrid Bakery has opened up a new “atelier” shop just a few doors up from the first ‘titchy’ bakery in Muswell Hill, which launched in 2024. At 900 sq ft, it’s more than double the size of the existing site, with the space used as a production kitchen for almost a year before being converted into a retail outlet. Founder Charlotte O’Kelly has also trebled her kitchen team and doubled front of house staff.
The new shop features the same black and white accents and chequerboard tiles as the original Astrid but with a darker green façade and art deco elements reminiscent of grand cafés in Europe. It also has a large glass counter designed by London studio Frank and an open-plan kitchen.
Astrid’s main focus is on sourdough breads and savoury items including pizza romana and filled croissants, while its new dedicated pastry team is developing a range of cakes and patisserie. As well as its signature Breakfast Boxes, it also serves sundaes made with its own soft-serve ice cream, speciality coffees, raw press juices, and luxury provisions such as The Estate Dairy butter and Cacklebean eggs.
Bar Hashery, York
In the space of just four years, York-based Bar Hashery has grown from a breakfast café in Bootham to operate sites in Micklegate and Parliament Street, as well as two kiosks at the city’s train station.
Co-founders Jolanta Labutyte and her husband Prafful Jha noted they needed more production capacity to supply their locations and enable wholesale expansion, so they acquired a new 3,000 sq ft space in Layerthorpe which previously housed Doe Bakehouse. The site also features an onsite café with seating for 60 people, plus a play area for kids.
Bestsellers among its range of freshly baked pastries are pistachio buns and pain au chocolat, with customers able to see them being made thanks to the open-plan kitchen.
Barbakan, Wilmslow
A different pace of growth is showcased by Chorlton-based bakery firm Barbakan, which has just expanded with a second shop after 62 years of operations.
The new 500 sq ft ‘baby Barbakan’ in Wilmslow was designed by MD Frankie Dyer, who purchased the family business from her father in 2021. She told British Baker that she wanted to give it a cosy and timeless feel like a European bistro, using checkerboard tile flooring and a ceiling coloured in the brand’s signature deep red. It has seating for eight covers inside and a further ten outside.
All products, such as the bestselling flavoured bagels, cinnabons, fruit Danish pastries, and doughnuts, are supplied daily having been produced overnight at the Chorlton bakery.
Gorse, Edinburgh
Belfast-born Natalie Hunter Rai and her husband Gurpreet have brought Northern Irish-inspired bakery and coffee to the Scottish capital. Their wee new venture Gorse – not to be confused with the craft bakery brand in Cornwall – is located on Pleasance street within view of the gorse-covered Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat.
It has proven so popular in the weeks since launching that they’ve decided to temporarily close and convert more of the back of house into production space.
Buttery tones run through the Edinburgh shop, from its bright yellow exterior to a softer, creamier shade inside, complimented by scarlet red tiles for its counter (see image at top). This also features a vintage wooden haberdashery cabinet stocking its bakes including current customer favourites like the Fifteen Danish – an elevated version of the traditional NI traybake – the Tayto Cheese & Onion Viennoiserie, and the Irish Stout Spelt Cake topped with whipped vanilla cream cheese icing and foraged gorse flower. It also offers freshly baked soda farls and Guinness wheaten bread toasted and served with lashing of butter.
Jolene, London
Located inside the Bridle Lane flagship store of streetwear brand Aries, in the heart of London’s Soho district, is the fifth location of craft bakery brand Jolene. The outlet offers shoppers Jolene’s range of sandwiches, pastries, sweet treats and freshly-ground coffees, either dining in for breakfast and lunch or as takeaway options.
Signature pastries – made with Wildfarmed regenerative flour – include the Rhubarb, Frangipane & Almond Danishes, Jalapeño & Cream Cheese Buns, and Pains aux Raisins, while sandwiches fillings change daily and might feature the likes of bacon and leek, braised fennel with goats cheese, or herbed egg mayo. Sweet treats include oaty Kingston biscuits sandwiched with milk chocolate ganache, glazed ring doughnuts, and St Clements poppyseed drizzle loaf cake.
The company was co-founded in 2018 by Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell, who also operate restaurants including Primeur and Westerns Laundry. Jolene’s other bakeries are in Stoke Newington, Islington, and Shoreditch, along with its main production site – aka “Big Jo” – on Hornsey Road in Finsbury Park.
Park Side Bakery & Deli, Cardiff
A latest growth step for South Wales-based hospitality group Fire & Wine sees it open a new bakery and deli site under its Park Side brand. It is located next to the group’s Park Side Kitchen and Bodega restaurant in the Amber Vista development near Cardiff’s Roath Park Lake.
The new site expands Park Side’s offer beyond brunch, coffee and all-day dining to include breads, pastries and cakes baked fresh onsite as well as quality grab-and-go options. It comes at a time when Grady Atkins has been promoted to group executive chef, bringing more than 30 years of experience across Michelin-starred kitchens, luxury hotels, and independent restaurants.
Fire & Wine’s portfolio also includes Ballers Pizza – which closed its Cardiff site to focus on pop-ups and events – and The Priory Hotel & Restaurant in Caerleon, near Newport.
Pinkmans Bakery, Bristol
Bristol-based Pinkmans has also extended its estate up to five, with its latest site located inside a converted shipping container at the city’s harbourside food destination, Wapping Wharf.
The takeaway offering includes Pinkmans signature sourdoughnuts plus freshly made seasonal salads, toasties, and focaccia sandwiches, as well as a range of handcrafted cakes, pastries and breads supplied by local producers. Speciality coffee is sourced from Cornwall roastery Yallah.
Design of the unit is said to follow the brand’s look and feel, creating a warm and welcoming environment with layout helping make the experience quick and seamless. Pinkmans was founded in 2015 by baking industry veterans Steven Whibley and Troels Bendix, and operates sites in Whiteladies Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol Cathedral, and Stokes Croft with a production unit in the city’s Old Market area.
Sandwich Sandwich, London
Sandwich Sandwich continues its London expansion with a first-ever pop-up at Paddington Station. The site, running for the next six months, is also supporting growth of its Grab & Go strategy following the opening of its 1 Broadgate store near Liverpool Street earlier this year.
Sandwich Sandwich aims to bring fresh energy to one of London’s busiest commuter destinations, with over 200,000 people passing through every single day. The Grab & Go range is a curated line-up of the brand’s most popular sandwiches such as Chicken Kyiv, Southern Fried Chicken, Spanish Chicken, Club, Roast Beef, and Tuna Crunch.
“The brand has been pursuing a station location for as long as anyone can remember, and anyone who knows hospitality will appreciate just how hard those spots are to come by,” commented Nick Kleiner, who founded Sandwich Sandwich in Bristol in 2012. “It’s a milestone that’s equal parts emotional, surreal, and exciting.”
Sourdough Sophia, London
Yet another fifth opening for a craft bakery brand comes from London-based Sourdough Sophia, which has unveiled a new shop in Primrose Hill. Jesse Sutton-Jones, who founded the business in 2020 with his baker wife Sophia Handschuh, told British Baker that Primrose Hill has “such a wonderful sense of community, and it feels like a very natural home for us”. The shop embraces the brand’s signature pink colour scheme with seating inside and outside.
Sourdough Sophia recently completed a transition into a dedicated 7,000 sq ft production hub at Spa Terminus under the railway arches in Bermondsey. “It’s an incredible space for our team to bake from, and the freshness and quality coming out of there is already something else,” said Sutton-Jones. “Over the coming weeks, we’ll also be opening the arches to customers, so people can come and buy bread straight from the source.”
The company is on track to reach eight locations by the end of 2026, with a site at Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden among those confirmed.
Strutt Bakehouse, Belper
The only first-time venture on this list is strutting its stuff on Strutt Street in Belper. It sees founder Ellie Blount achieve a lifelong dream of owning a bakery, having returned to her Derbyshire hometown armed with fresh inspirations from the café culture in Australia.
The signature bake is cinnamon buns – made using a two-day dough process and coming out soft and gooey – while other items on the range include sourdough toasties, carrot cake, seal salt & dark chocolate cookies, banana bread, blueberry crumble buns, and speciality coffee.
The café interior, meanwhile, is inspired by calming Scandinavian design themes with neutral tones and light wood. There’s seating for 15 inside and 12 outside.
Wrights, Leicester
Amidst its centennial celebrations this year, bakery brand Wrights has extended its estate to 23 locations with a ninth franchise operation at The Stage Services in Wigston, near Leicester.
The new 2,300 sq ft bakery offer the company’s full range of hot savoury pastries, sweet treats, freshly made sandwiches and pizza, catering to both grab-and-go and eat-in customers with a 40-seat dining area.
The Leicestershire opening forms part of a broader growth plan at Wrights – owned by The Compleat Food Group – as it scales its franchise model and expands beyond its West Midlands heartland. It was founded in 1926 in Stoke-on-Trent, around which it currently runs 14 shops, supplied by its factory in Crewe.
Is your bakery the best in the nation?
Then be sure to enter the Baking Industry Awards 2026. There are 15 categories to choose from including Craft Bakery Business of the Year and New Bakery Product of the Year, as well as the brand-new Bakery Leader of the Year.
Now in its 39th year, the awards recognise talent, innovation, and dedication as it celebrates the best people, products, and businesses the industry has to offer.
Entries are now open and cost £90 plus VAT with the exception of Rising Star and Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry, which are free to enter. The entry deadline for all categories is Monday 18 May – to enter the awards, or for more information, visit www.bakeryawards.co.uk.
Finalists will be revealed on BritishBaker.co.uk in early September, with winners announced at a black-tie ceremony on Wednesday 25 November at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
No comments yet