Village Cakery to open on Fore Bondgate in Bishop Auckland tomorrow

Village Cakery, run by couple Andy Hope and Bradley Skeen, has been operating from their home in Cockfield, County Durham.

The bakery will open at 11.30am on Friday (April 3).

The business started in 2024, mainly doing celebration cakes, with Andy saying they had always talked about opening a shop.

But he said it still “does not feel real”.

Andy said: “I do not think it will ever sink in until that first customer walks through the door. It is daunting, but the excitement is just unbelievable.”

The bakery will open at 11.30am tomorrow (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

The couple, who are both from Bishop Auckland, got the keys to the shop on Fore Bondgate on Sunday, March 1.

Andy said: “We had always talked about opening a shop, but it was about Christmas time when we decided to do it.

“We viewed a few shops around Bishop because we were both born and bred here and it is where we want our base to be.

“We are all about the community, working together to make a better high street.

“We are trying to get the other shops involved in our opening by giving out 20 per cent discount vouchers.”

The bakery, which was originally started by Andy before his sister joined, started by going to various markets in the region.

A list of upcoming markets the bakery will be attending over the next two months (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

He took a little break but started it up again with his partner, Bradley, and the business has gone from strength to strength.

Andy said: “We just decided to dive right in, do it properly, get the shop, go to markets and just do everything we possibly can.

“It has gone so well. The markets that we’ve had this year have just been phenomenal.”

And Andy has said what people in Bishop can expect from Village Cakery.

“A wide variety of good quality products,” he said.

“We are always trying to do something different. We are going to trade back on TikTok, and we are looking to do home delivery service.

“Down the line, we’re looking to do bakery classes or demonstrations. The possibilities of what you can do are pretty much endless.”