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A Plymouth bakery was such a hit on its opening weekend that it had to close temporarily when it ran out of stock.

The, was inundated with hungry customers when it launched on the last weekend of February 2021. It meant it sold out of all its bread, pasties, cookies and cakes and had to close for four days until it could bake enough new stock.

鈥淲e had queues of 35 to 40 people,鈥� said business boss and baker Lloyd Inwood. 鈥淲e sold hundreds of pasties in the first weekend. We could not have asked for a better opening but got caught out by the demand. A nice problem to have though.鈥�

The bakery will reopen on Friday, March 5, and intends to trade seven days a week, 8am to 3pm, from then on. It is ramping up production at its baking unit, on an industrial site in nearby Saltash, to keep pace with demand.

Six people are employed there, and another three at the shop, but Mr Inwood said more people could earn a crust with him as he is looking to eventually set up a chain of Rise Bakery sites, in the South Hams and Cornwall, and will be launching a nation-wide delivery service from March 5, which will see its products sent across England and Wales.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to grow,鈥� Mr Inwood said. 鈥淲e are trying to extend production and we haven鈥檛 even touched wholesale yet. We aiming to produce 300 to 500 pasties a day, and 100 sourdough loaves a day, as we want to supply restaurants.鈥�

The bakery also produces cakes and cookies and its speciality fried 鈥渉alf croissant, half doughnut鈥� creation, in addition to a range of vegan pasties, sausage rolls and cakes, and sees itself chiefly as a high-end producer of patisserie.

That, Mr Inwood explained, means that Rise Bakery doesn鈥檛 see itself in competition with the several bakery businesses already operating in Plymouth city centre, and said it is closer to the Barbican鈥檚 famous Jacka Bakery in trading model, although he believes there is enough business for all of them.

鈥淚t (Plymouth) is not saturated,鈥� he said.

Mr Inwood has been involved in the Plymouth hospitality scene for some years, and is a . He started his culinary career as a trainee for Rick Stein at his famous Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall.

He then worked as a private chef for luxury ski chalet company Verbier Exclusive, cooking for celebrities and the super-wealthy. For two year he then worked as a private chef on the superyacht Lionheart, producing meals for the owners of the TomTom tech company.

鈥淏ut I had a young family and wanted to come back to Plymouth,鈥� Mr Inwood said.

He鈥檚 been a director at the Terrace since early 2017 but in Covid-hit 2020 found he had time on his hand and began working on the Rise concept in November 2020, spending 鈥渁 fair bit of wedge鈥� on launching the business.

He chose Frankfort Gate as a location because he sees the area, in Plymouth city centre鈥檚 West End, as having potential, especially since Plymouth City Council spent cash on upgrading it and demolished the ugly footbridge over Western Approach.

It also has a cluster of food outlets which Mr Inwood says are complementary, and added: 鈥淭here is strength in being next to each other.鈥�

He鈥檚 already eyeing expansion, and aims to launch another business in the area soon, and hopes to be able to have outdoor seating at Rise.

鈥淭his is a concept prover,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l then look at more sites, village locations in the South Hams and Cornwall, different options.鈥�

And the delivery business will see Rise Bakery sending its cakes, croissant/doughnuts, cream tea boxes and special Mother鈥檚 Day boxes national, with delivery by 4pm the following day after dispatch.

鈥淲e spend a lot of time on product development,鈥� said Mr Inwood. 鈥淎nd the boxes are quite special, a bit of theatre when they arrive.鈥�

And Mr Inwood hasn鈥檛 forgotten to give something back to the community. He said: 鈥淲e are going to give away our day products (unsold items) to Shekinah and the soup run every afternoon. I was amazed at the numbers of people they are feeding.鈥�