THERE HAS BEEN AN EXPLOSION IN THE NUMBER OF ARTISAN BAKERIES AND PATISSERIES IN LIVERPOOL WITH THE TINY STORES BOASTING LENGTHY QUEUES 08:23, 09 Feb 2025 Liverpool's independent bakery

scene is positively booming right now, with a number of small businesses popping up in recent years and building a cult following of loyal customers. In the south end of the city, three

artisan bakers have set up shop within three miles of one another - and each is so popular in its own right that there are queues out the door every single weekend. On Sefton Street, The

Wild Loaf has been serving customers from the Dingle store since 2022, while on Aigburth Road 'micro-patisserie' and bakehouse Mon Petit Chou opened its doors in the same year. And

renovations, expansions and additional sites elsewhere in the city. We took a look at the rapid growth of the independent bakery scene in the city, and asked why it is that Scousers have

embraced these trendy sites so wholeheartedly. Adelina Blanaru is one half of the married couple behind the Little Parkfield Road bakery Lunko bakery, a business which started its life as

The Butterholic during the pandemic, taking online orders and supplying venues across Merseyside. Adelina and husband Marius Dogaru were eventually able to open their own business and since

then they've been inundated with a mixture of loyal customers and new-found fans who spot the bakery on social media and make the trip to the city to try it out. The couple have

witnessed the growth of the city's bakery scene first hand, and Adelina told the ECHO: "I think the Liverpool bakery scene has grown massively and there's a lot more

appreciation for artisan, high quality pastries and bread. There is an increase in demand for artisan pastries and I think people are more interested in the stories behind the products and

the people behind them, who are trying to create a good community and a space where people feel welcome - as well as giving back." Giving back to the city that has supported them is a

big part of the couple's ethos in running Lunko. Adelina added: "We regularly work with homeless charities and we donate pastries almost every Sunday. When different charities

contact us we donate gift vouchers for their events, we donate to help people who are running marathons to help raise funds - we bake pastries for them. It's more than just a product we

make, it's about making sure we give back. I think, for us, it is really important because it is part of our DNA and our mission - success isn't just about sales, it's about

creating a space where people feel safe and welcome." The couple feel deeply rooted in the community, having moved to Kirkby from Romania in 2015, after briefly living in Paris while

Marius trained as a pastry chef. Having seen the city embrace so many new independent businesses, Adelina said they think it's great to be part of such a thriving scene. She said:

"I think it's good for the city to see such good products. I think Liverpool can compete with some of the biggest scenes in the word in terms of the hospitality scene. We travelled

the world and did a lot of research and the bakeries here are at a really good level. We are happy to see everyone succeed." Like many of the city's artisan bakeries, Lunko has

become a destination in its own right, and Adelina said they have seen customers travelling from Manchester, Scotland and London just to try their pastries. And having recently taken a

disappointing knock-back when they announced their plans for a second site in the Baltic Triangle wouldn't be going ahead, the couple are looking forward to the future, and seeing

further growth in their business as they plan big renovations planned for the busy store. Just a short walk up Aigburth Road and customers can find Mon Petit Chou, another beloved bakery

that has a queue down the street every single weekend. Mon Petit Chou has its origins in lockdown, when Betty Morris, 30, began baking for neighbours. Soon after, the trained pastry chef

turned her basement into a micro-bakery and was delivering cakes across Liverpool. The next step was to open a shop of her own. Speaking to the ECHO in May 2023, Betty said: "We opened

in December [2022]. The first day we opened, I thought 'oh my god, is anyone even going to come'. We were just standing at the counter thinking 'this is scary' after

you've made loads of food to sell every day." Fortunately, the business took off. With the help of an Instagram page, its visually-appealing pastries drew plenty of people in. As

Betty said: "Then the word got round and now on a Saturday morning we have queues down the road. It's so nice." The bakery is only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The

rest of the week is spent planning, preparing and ensuring the finished products are as good as they can be. Looking to the future, Betty wants to be in a position to open the shop on more

days. She also has her eyes on a second venue. The compact Aigburth Road setting can make preparing enough food to keep up with demand a task, but it is one she relishes. For now, she is

happy to have become part of the community in Aigburth. And elsewhere in the south end of the city, another independent business in routinely drawing in similar crowds, having built up a

loyal following. The Wild Loaf opened its shop on Sefton Street, Dingle in 2022. However, business partners Jessica Doyle and Emily Sandeman have run the bakery, which focuses on sourdough

bread, since 2017. Jessica, who is from Anfield, previously told the ECHO: "We started off in Cains Brewery before it was anything really - we were one of the first people in there.

That was 2017 and then we moved to the Buyers Club, had a space in the Pen Factory and now we're here." She added: "We were led to this location because we wanted to keep it

independent and wanted to keep it small. We've had people come and say they want to invest and maybe they could see it going bigger but we've always wanted to be the opposite of

that - we want to be a small business." Article continues below It's clear to see the city's independent bakery scene is thriving, with a number of different venues all

managing to carve out a customer base in a relatively crowded field. Clearly they're doing something right, with shoppers still willing to queue for their favourite treats long after

any initial social media hype has died down. In a time where Liverpool hospitality industry and independent businesses feel more squeezed than ever before, it's a testament to the

city's support for artisan outlets that these sites continue to prosper.