Cornish Bakery ‘RISES’ with significant new brand concept

Cornish Bakery, the independent, founder-driven company first started in Mevagissey, Cornwall, is set to launch a significant brand extension in some of its upcoming new locations – RISE by Cornish Bakery. The licenced RISE ‘concept bakeries’ mark the next evolution of the high-growth business with three of the seven upcoming openings carrying the name and bespoke-designed brand experience.

‘RISE by Cornish Bakery’ represents a next-level sector development in product, design, service experience, community engagement and trading hours, and the concept will be rolled out in larger properties in key locations across the UK.

In 2021, Cornish Bakery’s Founder, Steve Grocutt declared that ‘bakery is the new coffee shop’ and having delivered that reality across the UK, ‘RISE by Cornish Bakery’ sees the company pioneering the next ‘turn-of-the-dial’ in the bakery sector.

Steve says, “RISE represents a significant opportunity for us to reshape hospitality, driving a new direction and our shared mission to provide a ‘bakery for the community’, everywhere we go. Within our select RISE locations, we’ll be extending opportunities for our uniquely-designed bakeries to trade for additional hours whilst more deeply integrating into the social fabric of the surrounding communities.”

Steve continues, “Our ‘RISE by Cornish Bakery’ concept purposefully thins the boundaries between traditional bakeries and casual dining spaces. We’re taking the opposite of the lazy ‘cookie cutter’ approach, purposefully designing new flexible environments that showcase bigger spaces, and inviting our guests to enjoy a morning pastry and speciality coffee, return for small plates and a glass of wine or local beer, meet friends and family, or settle in for a relaxed date – at any time of day or evening. RISE is a format designed for time well spent, and given the larger spaces available in these bakeries, they’ll be a place in the local community to host talks, exhibitions, classes or events.”

The first confirmed ‘RISE by Cornish Bakery’ location is set to be Betws-y-Coed in Conwy, North Wales which will open in April 2026 – the company’s first footprint into Wales. Seating up to 192 people inside and outside, the property will be 2,500 sq ft in size with a bespoke design Located at the entrance to Eryri National Park, it will be designed with the theme of the ‘bakery of anticipation’ as customers enter the beautiful park. The bespoke interiors will respect its location, with works by local designers including hand-made local woven Welsh tapestries as wall hangings.

The Betws-y-Coed opening will be closely followed by the second RISE bakery in Portsmouth’s historic waterfront Gunwharf Quays Designer Outlet Centre, set to open in early May. Cornish Bakery has had a presence in Gunwharf Quays since 2001 and as part of a recent shopping outlet redevelopment, is relocating to a new much larger two storey property. This RISE opening will be Cornish Bakery’s largest property so far at 3,500 sq ft, featuring an extensive orangery, outdoor terrace and first floor balcony. It will also feature space for baking and barista classes for the local community.

The third RISE will be in Cornwall’s creative destination of Falmouth where Cornish Bakery is taking its second property within the main shopping street. Spread over three floors and set in an historic building overlooking the sea, this 92-seat bakery will be designed with the creativity of the Falmouth community front-of-mind, with dedicated spaces for interactive art exhibitions and presentations.

These new licensed RISE bakeries will expand traditional coffee and bakery offerings to include small plates designed for breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon/early evening dining. Guests can enjoy Cornish Bakery’s full product range including its Cornish pasties and sausage rolls, both lauded by The Times’ food reviewer Giles Coren, alongside the crafted and baked viennoiseries and cakes and coffee from the Cornwall-based B-Corp Origin Coffee.

The new RISE range of small plates will include Chorizo and Shakshuka baked eggs, with tomatoes, peppers, onion and spices and free-range eggs from St. Ewe Eggs in Cornwall. Cornish Huevos Rancheros, Cornish Bakery’s own take on the Mexican dish will feature black beans, tomatoes, guacamole and free-range St. Ewe Eggs. A new Crab Gratin, with dauphinoise potato, Cornish cheddar cheese, lemon and parsley will be served alongside a Cornish Ploughman’s sharing plate for two, featuring ham hock and piccalilli terrine, Cornish Bakery’s farmhouse sausage roll, Cornish cheddar, chutney, gherkins and grapes. All small plates can be washed down with Cornish beers from Harbour Brewery and wines from Camel Valley Vineyard alongside the enhanced menu.

Steve said, “Whilst RISE by Cornish Bakery is pioneering for the sector, it is simply a natural progression for us. Our vision is to redefine what a bakery is does and can be, and our select new larger RISE locations enhance our belief that bakeries should be part of the community with us providing new spaces where local communities can host special events and happenings.”

Steve continued, “We’re creating a format that removes the traditional boundaries between bakery, café and casual dining, allowing us to move seamlessly from morning viennoiserie and exceptional roasted coffee through to small plates and a glass of Cornish wine or beer. At the heart of it remains our exceptional baking, but the setting is reimagined for a new generation who see hospitality as something more fluid and experiential.”