MasterChef 2014 winner Jamie Scott, who owns The Newport Restaurant in Newport-on-Tay and Hard Grind Coffee in Arbroath and Dundee, plus Wrecking Ball Doughnuts, will open the new bakery in May at 206 South Street, St Andrews.
The venture comes as a result of their successful collaboration with The Cheesy Toast Shack at the East Sands Beach where they have been serving freshly baked goods for the past few weeks.
Jamie said: “We’ve looked at St Andrews for the last couple of years but decided to look somewhere else that better suited our needs at the time.
“I’ve been in contact with Sam, who owns The Cheesy Toast Shack, about working together and he offered me space to do something. That’s how we started the pop-up.”
Pop-up shop success
The Newport Bakery has a large customer base from St Andrews, so it felt right to find a permanent home in the town centre.
This will allow those in the area to purchase the firm’s popular bakes throughout the week, as well as during the weekend.
Jamie said: “Our new location will allow customers from across Fife to easily access their pastries.
“We didn’t think the pop-up would be this successful, I think we’ve sold out every day it’s been there.”
Familiar favourites
Jamie wants to bring a familiar feel to the new location but also adapt to the lifestyle of the busy student and tourist town.
At the other bakeries in both Dundee and Newport-on-Tay, customers can expect a ‘low and slow’ atmosphere for those who want to take their time to enjoy freshly baked goods and coffee.
Meanwhile, at the new venue customers can anticipate more of a café atmosphere, but still with some old favourites.
Jamie said: “The menu will be similar and have the same base content including our pastries, bread and sourdoughs.
“We want to adapt to the different clientele in St Andrews and to bring more of a lunch feel to the new bakery.
“We plan to introduce more lunch bites to the menu such as salads and sandwiches, whilst still incorporating our coffees from Daily Grind.”
Expanding the bakery
The Newport bakery is looking to grow its team and is currently looking for bakers and confectioners to join them in its new venture.
Above all for Jamie, it is essential to show progression within the core team by moving them onto a new project.
“We are continually expanding with the team, therefore we tend not to hire senior positions. We always like to promote within the team first,” he said.
“It’s the same for the restaurant, the bakery and Daily Grind. We make sure that we take on people who are doing well in other aspects of the team.”
Refurbishments on the new The Newport Bakery are already underway and in a matter of weeks, locals will be able to enjoy a wide range of fresh goods in the heart of the town centre.
Until then, the pop-up shop is still running for the next couple of weeks.
