Bakers & Co brings artisan coffee and sourdough to Wapping Wharf

Lockdown success story Bakers & Co is opening a second bakery selling its mouth-watering bread, pastries and coffee in Bristol's CARGO at Wapping Wharf, the city's much-loved harbourside quarter.

Opening next month in CARGO 2, the new Bakers & Co follows the successful expansion of its original bakery business at the Gloucester Road site where, during the first lockdown, the team converted the empty café into a bakery so they could continue to supply bread and pastries direct to their local community.

During lockdown, head chef Brett St Clair experimented with expanding the sourdough range and became dedicated to utilising its magical flavour-enhancing qualities. Since then, sourdough has become their signature ingredient with naturally leavened breads and sweet and savoury pastries made without commercially-made yeast, the speciality at Bakers & Co and the inspiration for the new-look shop at CARGO 2.

All products are made by hand in Bristol. Working with the finest quality of ingredients to craft unique items that are full of favour. As well as baked good they will be selling single origin coffee from Extract and showcasing coffees from other speciality roastery's.

A large part of Bakers & Co's decision to open at CARGO was its strong sense of community. The team feels passionately that it's the daily interactions that can make a difference to everyone and that by providing a friendly environment and delicious food you can have a positive impact on communities.

Season + Taste, the company behind Bakers & Co, already has two restaurants based at CARGO, Wapping Wharf, namely Gambas and Cargo Cantina.

Head Baker at Bakers & Co Brett St Clair says: "Bakers & Co is all about community, and nothing has reinforced that idea to us more than the past two years. Being able to bring people comfort with something as simple as a great cup of coffee or a loaf of sourdough bread has meant a lot to all of us. With Wapping Wharf it's all about bringing that same sense of community to the harbourside.

"Our product is special because both the bread and pastry are exclusively naturally leavened, completely shunning commercial yeast. The pastries are approached with the same focus on flavour as the bread, the bread with the same precision as the pastry. Each informs the way we work with the other, so everything is attuned to our philosophy of working with sourdough.

We're currently developing more savoury Danish varieties, and really looking forward to asparagus season for that. We're also working on our sourdough version of a pop tart, as well as a new soft drinks range all made in house."

Stuart Hatton, managing director at Umberslade, the developer behind Wapping Wharf, says: "I'm a big fan of Bakers & Co so I am delighted they are opening their second shop at CARGO 2 and look forward to welcoming them to Wapping Wharf. It's also great to see Season + Taste expanding its presence within the quarter, each time bringing something new and exciting to the mix.

"With Bakers & Co's focus on artisan baking, locally-sourced ingredients and friendly service, they are the perfect fit with our collection of unique independent businesses, whilst their community focus chimes with our neighbourhood ethos."

The new shop will be located in CARGO 2, at Wapping Wharf, in the unit formerly home to kitchen specialist HUSK, which decided to focus on transforming the old bicycle and timber storage area at its original workshop in Montpelier into its new showroom.

Wapping Wharf is in the heart of Bristol's historical and cultural quarter, with its tree-lined pedestrian and cycle route, Gaol Ferry Steps, providing an important connection between south Bristol to the city centre.

Now home to over 40 independent businesses, many of which are based within CARGO - a popular hub made of converted shipping containers, Wapping Wharf is home to some of the city's best independent restaurants, shops, cafes and lifestyle businesses.

Follow Bakers & Co on Instagram here (@BakersandCo) and Wapping Wharf on Instagram here (@WappingWharf)