First cafés from craft bakery businesses and estate expansions of chains are among the featured five in our final round-up of new openings this year.
Products on offer at these new shops include Italian cornetti, doughnuts, brownies, artisan bread, and sourdough made with Wildfarmed flour.
You can cast you eyes back at our previous Opening Doors round-up, which was fifth in the series, and then read on to discover the newest arrivals on the UK’s craft bakery scene:
The Italian Club Bakery, Liverpool
Husband and wife team Maurizio and Rosaria Crolla have unveiled a dedicated bakery shop on Liverpool’s Duke Street, having previously operated a “bread laboratory” in a different location to supply their nearby pair of ‘The Italian Club’ restaurants.
Signature products include authentic cornetti (Italy’s version of the croissant), along with focaccia and panini, while customers can also pick up the likes of sourdough bread, savoury pastries, and celebration cakes.
The interior design, influenced by cafés in Milan, Vienna and New York, offers space to seat 30. It will look to cater for “workers, shoppers, foodies and Italophiles”, notes its owners.
Project D, Nottingham and Sheffield
The retail rollout of the Derby-based doughnut specialist – turbocharged by a successful crowdfunding campaign – continues on from its flagship store opening in York to add two more outlets, both inside large city malls.
These include a kiosk at the Victoria Centre in Nottingham (pictured) and more recently a shop at Sheffield’s Meadowhall Shopping Centre.
“We had three stores prior to the pandemic but our plan for retail expansion was abruptly cut short,” said co-founder and marketing director Max Poynton. “Now that business has boomed through online sales and pop-up events, our retail expansion plan is even bigger than before.”
More openings of the bright pink branded stores are planned for cities across the UK, with announcements to be made “in the near future”.
The Fine Brownie Company, Southampton
Another new opening that’s pretty in pink is selling sweet treats down by the seashore (or near enough). The Southampton company, founded in 2021 by former chocolatier and cake maker Zara Hulkes, has unveiled its inaugural café.
A range of brownies, including blondie and vegan variations, are served along with locally sourced coffee and tea – the Salted Caramel Brownies and Raspberry Blondies are billed as the biggest hits with customers. Production is done at a kitchen across town, which also supplies wholesale to businesses in Southampton and Portsmouth.
The Fine Brownie team, comprised of friends, helped design and build the café’s cute and cosy interior themselves in just one month, and included some salvaged furniture. They will look to continue expanding the brand via food market and event pop-ups, with the ambition of opening new locations in neighbouring cities.
Bread Source, Reepham
The Norfolk artisan bakery chain recently unveiled its eighth site in the same small town where it first started doing weekly markets 12 years ago. Founder Steven Winter (who was crowned Baker of the Year 2020) and his wife Hannah have since grown the business to employ more than 150 staff members. These include some talented bakers, with night supervisor Jordan Skeet winning this year’s Rising Star Award, and manager Daniel Girling named a finalist for Baker of the Year.
The new shop serves Bread Source’s full range of handmade bread, pastry, cakes, and savoury snacks including sourdough baked with traditional methods, which it describes as “unreal”. The clean and minimalist décor was inspired by time-treasured baking materials like beech and stainless steel, with indoor and outdoor seating accommodating up to 30 customers.
The business is also opening a new mobile cart based inside the grounds of historic Norwich Cathedral.
Layers, East London
Founded by a trio of food industry and hospitality veterans, this wholesale bakery and coffee shop is one of the newest residents of the Goodluck Hope waterfront community at Orchard Dry Dock, on the south side of Leamouth Peninsula.
The family- and pet-friendly store bakes, sells and serves goods from 8am every day including sourdough made with Wildfarmed flour, grab-and-go breakfasts and all-day brunch items. It will also host a rolling programme of events and educational workshops.
“There is something about the view of the O2, being so close to the water, and the history of the location that just makes it all magical,” commented Layers co-founder Faye Weatherburn.
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