ARTISAN bakers who opened a shop in Barnard Castle four weeks ago say they have been overwhelmed by the response.
Alex Lister and partner Catherine Brown, from Hamsterley, moved the Rise Artisan Bakery to the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill premises in Horsemarket after having to mothball their business for 13 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the lockdown kicked in last year, walk-in trade to their Newcastle outlet in Grainger Market disappeared overnight when workers were told to stay at home. Wholesale trade also dried up with hospitality venues closed.
After securing new premises the couple have worked hard to transform the two-storey former clothes shop into a bakery
Since opening, the couple, who initially set up the business in Crook six years ago, have regularly seen queues out of the door for their artisan bread, baguettes, sourdoughs, mousse cakes and deli sandwiches.
“I never expected to be this busy,” said Mr Lister. “And this is just the beginning. Once we get the power going it will be the crown jewel of Barney.”
Three-phase electricity still has to be connected to the premises which will allow the couple to expand their range of bread, patisseries and pies. Opening is limited to four days a week from Wednesday to Saturday though this will be expanded in time. He added: “We won’t be doing wholesale. It would mean we would have to start at six in the evening and work through until 6am and I’m not doing that. But we have got so much more that we can so – pies, croissants, pain au chocolate. We will probably keep it simple, but we haven’t really started yet and the scope is huge.”
They plans to get the cafe, which will be on the first floor, up and running by the beginning of November with a “simple but tasty” menu.
