A POPULAR bakery is expanding its premises and services to offer more to the community.

Grants Bakery in Corbridge will diversify its services and extend its premises to create a new coffee shop, ice cream parlour and extend its existing bakery and upmarket sandwich ranges.

It will start to offer afternoon tea and outdoor seating in the coming weeks.

Andrew Cotterell, the owner of Grants, said the expansion is primarily down to "high demand".

Hexham Courant: Grants Bakery will extend into the vacant Luna Light premises next door to form one large store approximately double the size of the existing storeGrants Bakery will extend into the vacant Luna Light premises next door to form one large store approximately double the size of the existing store (Image: Grants Bakery)

He has been in the baking industry for more than 40 years and opened Grants over a decade ago.

The existing premises will double in size by extending into the vacant next-door shop, Luna Light, a former healing and holistic centre.

The work to convert the vacant store has been ongoing for the last six months, but Mr Cotterell hopes the new extension will be ready in approximately mid-May.

Hexham Courant: Grants Bakery offers a range of cakesGrants Bakery offers a range of cakes (Image: Grants Bakery)

READ MORE: The best bakery in Northumberland named

"We're so busy, we have a lot of tourists coming from all over the country to see the shop so it's going to help Corbridge town centre as well I think," he said. 

"It's all about customer demand, we wouldn't do it if we didn't think there was business to be had. There's been a massive reaction, not only with customers but all over social media."

Mr Cotterell said customers can look forward to a "continuation of the products on offer now", along with some exciting developments including hosting events at the store.

Hexham Courant: Grants Bakery will extend its premises and offer outdoor seating and afternoon tea in the coming weeksGrants Bakery will extend its premises and offer outdoor seating and afternoon tea in the coming weeks (Image: Grants Bakery)

"We're thinking of opening a school up at our production unit to teach people how to do croissants and Danish patisserie. The shop itself will have lots of changes and new products," he added. 

He said the numerous awards Grants has won have helped to spread its name not just in Corbridge or Newcastle, but across the country.

It was named the best bakery in Northumberland in the National Bakery Awards in 2023 and won the Craft Bakery Business Award for the best retail bakery in the North at the Baking Industry Awards in 2019.

The current shop will remain open while the extension is completed.