Bread Ahead’s future at Borough Market is in doubt after the bakery said it has been told it needs to leave the iconic food market for being “too successful”.
Bread Ahead, widely known for its avant-garde takes on baked goods, including the now-viral crème brûlée doughnut, was founded at Borough Market — its first brick-and-mortar location, and the home of its baking school.
According to a statement posted on Instagram by Bread Ahead founder Matthew Jones, market management informed the bakery that it had become “too successful,” noting its growing international franchise presence.
For anyone who has had the other-worldly experience of biting into a blackcurrant-mascarpone-cheesecake-doughnut (yes, it is a mouthful), the news comes as a bitter disappointment.
In a heartfelt plea, Mr Jones has called out the market’s decision: “Why in Gods name would anyone want to shut down a wonderful thriving part of a local and international community?”
He said: “[When I started Bread Ahead] there was no big investment behind me. No corporate backing. Just an idea I believed in, a love of baking and a determination to make it work.
“Borough Market gave us our start. It became our home. It is where Bread Ahead grew up.
“I honestly never imagined that being successful could put our home at risk.”
On social media the decision has been met with backlash, with the bakery’s closing labelled as a “ridiculous management decision”.
The move coincides with the company’s upcoming launch of its first United States location in New York this November, alongside existing overseas operations in Dubai, Bangkok, and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Jones added: “We haven’t been bought by a multinational. We haven’t become a faceless chain. We are still founder-led.
“Yes, we have grown. But surely that should be something to celebrate, not a reason to ask us to leave”.
The move marks the latest in a series of tenancy disputes involving long-standing vendors at the historic site, where Maria’s Market Café, a vendor operating in Borough Market since the early 1960s, is currently fighting a similar decision by market leadership regarding the non-renewal of its lease.
A spokesperson for Borough Market said: “Our relationships with traders are really important to us, whether they’re actively trading or as part of our alumni of success stories.
“We continue to be in contact with the Bread Ahead team about their future at the market, but as discussions relating to individual tenancies are confidential it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific details of this case.”
Bread Ahead is currently appealing to the public in an effort to have the market’s decision reversed.
“I don’t want a war with Borough Market,” explained Mr Jones. “I want them to remember the little bakery that started with a market stall and recognise what it has become”.
Operations at the Borough Market site continue as discussions between the two parties remain ongoing.
