Hit London bakery chain Gail's is to launch another north west site - after taking over a former bank in Didsbury. The popular bakery is famed for its cinnamon buns, sourdough loaves and wide range of cakes and pastries.
Work is now well underway at the former HSBC bank building on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury, with the signature red and white branding of Gail's appearing on the hoardings. Contractors on site say they are working towards a completion of building works by mid-June, although an official opening date has yet to be confirmed.
The Didsbury opening will come amid a rapid expansion across the north west by the bakery chain. It launched its first northern outpost in Wilmlsow in Cheshire in February when there were queues down the street, before swiftly following with the opening of a Gail's Altrincham bakery in March.
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Manchester city centre will be next to get the bakery treats, with the launch of the King Street bakery and cafe "coming soon". The new Didsbury Gail's will sit along a busy parade of shops and bars along Wilmslow Road, next to the Co-Op store, and will open in the summer.
Signs outside the site say: "Hello Didsbury, we'll be baking here soon". A spokeswoman for Gail's said it is aiming to open in the summer, and added that many of the bank's original fittings were being retained during the refurbishment.
She told the MEN: "We're delighted to be firing up our ovens in Didsbury this summer. The design of the bakery will pay homage to the unit's past life as a bank where much of the existing character from the build will be retained".
Founded in the early 90s by chef and baker Yael (Gail) Mejia, the brand has gone on to open over 100 locations across the UK, from London and Brighton to Oxford and Cambridge. In announcing the first site in Wilmslow earlier this year, the company said it had "big plans" for the north west.
It follows the opening of its wholesale bakery in Openshaw back in 2017, which has been providing bread and pastries to some of the region’s very best restaurants, cafes and hotels ever since.
If the Didsbury bakery follows the same pricing and menu as its sister sites in Altrincham and Wilmslow, customers can expect to pay from £2.70 for baked treats like cookies, up to £3.95 for delicacies like pistachio cake iced with lemon, rose water and raspberry icing and finished with rose petals. Sourdough loaves are priced from £4, while there's a daily range of sandwiches priced from £2.30.
It is likely to boast a full indoor cafe menu too given the size of the former bank site. Here, visitors can expect an array of hot and cold treats, as well as a full menu of hot beverages.
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