The old corner bakery on Weaver’s Row, dark since the spring, is to reopen as a community-owned shop after a group of residents raised enough to take on the lease and refit the ovens.
The building had stood empty since the previous tenant retired, and there were fears it would follow two other Weaver’s Row units into becoming flats. Instead, a share offer aimed at people living within the valley closed last month having comfortably passed its target.
What to expect
Organisers say the shop will keep to a deliberately short list of what it does well, rather than trying to be everything at once:
- Daily bread and a weekend sourdough baked on the premises
- Coffee and a handful of tables for people to sit
- A small counter for produce from valley growers and the Saturday market
Any surplus, the group says, will go back into the shop and towards keeping prices sensible rather than to outside shareholders. Volunteers will work alongside a small number of paid staff.
Fitting-out is expected to take several weeks, with a soft opening pencilled in for early November. The organisers are still after second-hand chairs and anyone willing to lend a hand with the repaint.
Related: Local Business news · Saturday market update
Further reading: The craft of baking
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