Neighbourhood bakehouse opened in November on Northgate street in the old Granary Health Store unit. Owner Catherine Graham spoke to us about her hopes for her new business.
Formerly the owner of Baked, which was located in Hoole, Catherine said “I’m a huge foodie. I learnt so much about food and nutrition when I had my 2 beautiful little boys, I suppose that’s where it all started really, I wanted to give them the best we could so I would cook and bake every day, I loved it and still to this day it’s just knowing what you put in your body is the fuel to keep you going ”
The Bakehouse sells a range of products from artisan breads, vegan sausage rolls, gluten free cakes, poke bowls, superfood lattes, ginger shots, alongside classics like bacon rolls and salmon bagels.
Opening during the second lockdown, offering takeaways only, proved a challenge. However Catherine is upbeat, saying that ” everyone thought we were crazy but we knew Chester loves their food, we couldn’t of imagined the support we have been given from all our foodie neighbours.. we sell out most days, we have been truly blessed and we are very grateful. We have been super busy as you can imagine the planning, sourcing products, suppliers, packaging, we believe in these challenging times it’s even more important we kept our artisan bakers still trading.”
With Northgate seeing a decline in its retail footprint and the rise of new food and drink outlets, including Covino, Picnic, Jaunty Goat, ChipD etc, Catherine says that this was the dream location for the business. “There is so much quality and passion from our neighbouring shop keepers we knew our products would be well placed and received on this road
One talking point which has impressed customers is the decor, including swing seats in the window. “We wanted to have a more relaxed approach, it was about providing an little escapism from the moment you step through the door to the first mouth full of food, we love the fact so many customers are enjoying the experience We draw a lot of our influence from Spain, as we travel there often & wanted to bring a little bit of it home with us. ” As 2020 ends , Catherine says she hopes the Chester community can come back as one and “reflect on what is is really important to each other, if COVID has taught us anything , it’s to appreciate the little things in life we used to take for granted ”
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