4 minute read
BAKES & CO.
BAKES & CO.
Bakes & Co Gillygate is a family owned cafe which, against the odds, has elegantly survived its first two years on one of York’s busiest streets. Hannah Wood reports
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The independent cafe, slightly set back from the hustle and bustle of York city centre, has been meeting the freshly baked culinary needs of York’s residents since September 2016. I spoke to owner and cake lover Liz Bakes (yes, that genuinely is her surname) about her ethos, struggles and overall success story of her first two years on Gillygate.
Our conversation begins mid-carrot cake production, a best seller in Liz’s repertoire, it was apparent she could knock up a batch with her eyes shut. I was perching in the corner of the kitchen and begun peeling back the layers to learn more about Liz herself, initially I wanted to know why she decided to build Bakes & Co as a business.
“I thought if I don’t do it now, because I started it when I was 50, I thought I won’t ever do it.” Launching Bakes & Co was a leap of faith for Liz, turning her back on social work was a huge risk, but thanks to her drive to succeed, it was a risk that has certainly paid off. As opposed to searching for the perfect place to build her own cafe, it was the address of Bakes and Co that made Liz’s mind up itself.
“When we first moved to York this was the first place we went into and we loved it, we loved the feel of it and I said to my husband then, if that ever came up wouldn’t it be great if we could do something with it and it just did, it just suddenly came up.”
82 Gillygate was then suddenly firmly in Liz’s hands and she was poised to sculpt her very own wholesome cafe and expose her extensive recipe book to the people of York.
It’s instantly obvious that Liz is conscious about using local produce in her bakes, as well as selling local fresh bread, eggs and milk in-store. The in-house coffee at Bakes is Roost coffee, sourced in Malton a mere 18 miles away and, again, this is available to purchase in-store. One thing I was keen to discuss with Liz was whether she felt it was essential to stay ‘ontrend’ with the goods she was offering, or can you not beat the classics?
“It would be arrogant to say I’m not going along with the swings and changes of what’s going on, you need that in the back of your mind but I think you need to be very secure about when you started out, what your goal was and what you’re trying to deliver to the customers.”
Liz’s selling point and the ethos of Bakes & Co is simply to provide wholesome home cooked food, whether that’s containing meat, a vegetarian dish or a vegan option. Liz explained that these factors are not at the forefront of her mind when creating a new dish or nibble to add onto her menu, she prioritises tastiness over anything else! Although, of course dietary requirements are still more than catered for at Bakes, the most popular being vegan bhajis and falafel, and there’s always the option to substitute your regular milk for oat, soya or almond.
Location location location. I decided to ask Liz whether after two years of being situated at 82 Gillygate, would she rather be based more towards the centre of York? “I would prefer to be in town because I know I’d be busy all the time, whereas this is very much dependent on, or a lot depends on when the students are around.”
Bakes & Co offers 10% discount to all students, university staff and NHS employees, as Liz picks up a huge amount of business from York St John University. So much so, a sign outside the Bakes & Co entrance reads ‘Keeping students alive since 2016’, as not only is the food homely and delicious, all of the staff provide a friendly face and are always up for a chat alongside your tea and cake!
“I think if I got the choice could I move into the town centre I would, but I’m tied into this now so I’m working with what I’ve got.” To me, Liz portrays a woman who is striving for more, whether she’s busy performing 10 tasks at once, she thinks she could be busier, so much so, an expansion in to the city centre could be on the cards for Bakes & Co. “Now that I’ve got the first 2 years under my belt, I’m feeling as though I’ve got a bit more time and headspace to start thinking about that.”
A third of businesses fail before reaching the two-year mark, usually due to poor budgeting and organisation, so for Liz the fact that her business is performing better than ever, is a huge achievement. Although, Liz does admit that she often fails to recognise her own success as she describes her newly-formed baking world ‘it’s just so head-down arse-up really’.
Finally, I wanted to discuss social media with Liz, something that has developed hugely in the latest generation and it’s something the she herself admitted she struggled to keep up with.
‘I think in this day and age it’s absolutely crucial. It’s a lot of energy initially to do it, of which I guess I didn’t have. I would say my customer base has been word of mouth which has been great because its grown organically; It’s maybe a slower growth than doing the Instagram and social media.’ Liz has passed on the social media baton to her younger members of staff who have successfully managed to create a daily, vibrant Instagram account with almost 300 followers (@bakesandco). Social media also gives Bakes & Co a chance to collaborate with other local businesses and organisations such as York’s Fifth Quarter, a group used to promote all the independent businesses in the Bakes & Co area.
Bakes & Co is open and looks forward to welcoming you, 8:00-16:30 Monday – Thursday, 8:00-5:00 Fridays, 9:00- 5:00 Saturdays and 11:00-4:00 Sundays, when you fancy some high quality, delicious treats from one of York’s leading independent coffee shops.
