A 'secret' artisan bakery in Cardiff is closing its doors after more than 100 years in business. Allen's Bakery, which is tucked away in a rear garage down an alley off Arran Place in Roath, will shut shop on Friday, September 9, as its owner retires.
The historic institution - which has reportedly been running for 110 years and you can read more about here - produces and sells freshly-baked products, including loaves of bread, rolls, cakes, pastries, pasties and pies, to many businesses all over the city and directly to customers visiting the premises.
Its current owner John Allen took over in the mid 1980s, when the previous owner, Dougie Adams, retired. Growing up in Roath, Mr Allen had developed an interest in the small bakery that his family had always bought their bread from.
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After studying food technology at college and working at Bruton's bakery in Grangetown, Mr Allen jumped at the opportunity of taking over the backstreet business when it came up for sale. To get more stories like this sent straight to your email inbox, sign up for our CardiffOnline newsletter here.
He was greeted with huge Victorian-style coal-fuelled peel ovens, into which the bread was put using big wooden shovels, which remain in place today. More modern electric ovens were installed, and, while the previous owners did their rounds in a horse and cart, Mr Allen used to deliver bread himself in the back of an estate car.
Open from 6am until the afternoon, the baker has spent decades waking up at 2am to start baking each morning. His herculean effort has been worth it, and the bakery was recommended by celebrity chef Rick Stein in his book Rick Stein’s Food Heroes in 2002.
Mr Allen previously told WalesOnline: "It gives us quite a thrill being the capital's best kept secret. And, in all the time I've owned this place, we've never had to advertise, which I suppose means the quality of our products has succeeded in speaking for itself."
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