St. John Group to open second retail bakery
Last year the group – whose Smithfield restaurant has held a Michelin star since 2009 – announced it was closing its Maltby Street site to focus on the expansion of its bakery arm following two successful pop-ups.
It subsequently opened its first retail bakery at Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden last September, serving sourdough breads and doughnuts that will also feature at the new site.
“A bakery should be woven into the fabric of an area, providing an essential service for the community, from morning buns to loaves of bread and a bottle or two for the dinner table,” says St. John CEO and co-founder Trevor Gulliver.
“In Fora we have found a happy home, surrounded by people who care as much as we do about hard work and quality.”
St John’s has also operated a bakery on London’s Druid Street since 2011, which sells doughnuts, breads and more to restaurants, cafes and retail sites across London.
In the past 12 months, London has appeared to be going through a bakery boom of sorts.
Last year the Western's Laundry team opened bakery and restaurant concept Jolene in Newington Green; and Ceviche chef Martin Morales launched Andina Panaderia, which was billed as London’s ‘first Peruvian bakery’.
It has also been announced that Cronut creator Dominique Ansel is to open a second bakery in London this year, having operated one in Belgravia since 2016.
