Cornish Bakery opens its doors in Winchester High Street

The Cornish Bakery opened its doors on Monday, October 21, with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony. It has opened in the unit previously occupied by Phase 8.

The café was soon busy, with Winchester residents coming in and trying the selection of pastries, cakes and drinks.

The first customers in the bakery were friends Marie Stock and Anna-Lisa Tayor. Anna-Lisa told the Chronicle: “Everything looks delicious!

Anna-Lisa Taylor (left) and Marie Stock were the first customers through the door (Image: Chris Atkinson)

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“It is an exciting addition to the high street and the café scene. We were waiting for it to open. It is a surprising honour to be the first customers!”

Carl Paulsen was trying out the bakery with his family. He called the Cornish Bakery “something different”.

Carl Paulson (Image: Chris Atkinson)

He continued: “We were expecting a plain old coffee shop, but it is all actually something different to what we have in Winchester. I think it will be good for a nice treat – the food looks really nice.

“I think it is somewhere I would come for a treat with my family.”

Mark Gillman and Kelly Brown said that they liked the bakery, but found that it was quite noisy. Mark continued: “I think we would come here again – I like the food.

Kerry Brown (left) and Mark Gillman (Image: Chris Atkinson)

“We’ve visited one in Cornwall, and this one is a bit smaller than that one.”

The ribbon to officially open the shop was cut by Lorraine Blackman, the events project manager and fundraiser for the Hampshire branch of Ickle Pickles, which raises money for intensive care equipment used in neonatal units.

She called the bakery “amazing”, saying: “It is great to see something like this in the high street, and the staff are very welcoming.

“It was an honour to cut the ribbon. It is not often that we get to do this kind of thing, so it was a real honour.”

Lorraine Blackman (Image: Chris Atkinson)

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Bakery manager Mark Tomlinson said that the branch, which is the 63rd Cornish Bakery which has opened its doors in the UK, is partnering with Ickle Pickles, with the 33-year-old hoping to do some work to support the charity.

Mark Tomlinson (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “We’re hoping to do bakesales to raise money for Southampton General Hospital. My son was in the neo-natal as he was four weeks early, so my wife and I are very passionate about raising money so they can help other people in the same situation, so people can have an easier time. So we want to do that for both Winchester and Southampton.”

He continued: “We had a soft opening over the weekend, and I think it was a really good practice. It’s been really nice so far. I’m looking forward to seeing it thrive, meeting a load of new people and making it a community in the store and in Winchester as a whole.”

First founded in Mevagissey, Cornwall, The Cornish Bakery has 63 locations across the UK. The Winchester branch hosts seating for up to 86 people at one time, with a special, private party room for approximately eight people which can be booked in advance by groups of friends, families or colleagues for meetings, celebrations and functions.

Cornish Bakery Founder and Owner, Steve Grocutt said, “We are delighted to now be open in Winchester, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of England. Today, the historic city is a key destination with a really strong retail and high street scene. We are very pleased to bring our unique philosophy and our values-driven culture to this beautiful city via what is our 63rd bakery.

“We believe a bakery should be part of the community so our new local 20 strong Winchester team are currently actively seeking opportunities to work with organisations in the area including Ickle Pickles.”