Bakery hopes to enjoy bigger slice of the action
A BAKERY has big plans on the horizon, with a second outlet coming soon and a larger production facility to meet demand.
Northern Rye, a bakery headquartered in Ouseburn, is on the rise with hopes to establish another outlet in North Shields’ Harbour Building and a bigger production facility.
The business already supplies 25 wholesale customers but now needs a larger unit than its current Byker production site to cope with demand.
Owner Robbie Livingston says this is the next step for the business, especially now it plans to supply more customers at the coast and in Sunderland.
The firm is in the process of moving its production to a larger unit at the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate in North Shields.
In addition, plans have been submitted to North Tyneside Council for a trading counter for food at the Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate site, where customers would be able to buy the firm’s own pastries and bread.
“Currently, we have a production unit in Byker and we have outgrown it and we are moving to a bigger unit to try to keep up with the demand,” said Robbie.
“We have been looking to expand for three years but there have not been any industrial units, there was a shortage during the pandemic.”
He also predicts the move to a larger facility could generate four or five jobs, possibly with more to follow as production gets under way.
Northern Rye started in Robbie’s home kitchen in 2017 after he graduated from a baking course at The School of Artisan Food. In 2018, Robbie moved into his baking unit at the i2 Byker Business Centre.
By 2020, Northern Rye had been able to move to its Ouseburn HQ, part-financed by a successful crowdfunding campaign.