'Last push' to save Glasgow bakery on brink of closure

Now owner Agne Petrosevicute has launched a desperate “last push” to try and save her shop.

She is hoping to raise £10,000 through a pioneering crowdfunding platform for women-led businesses in a pilot scheme launched by Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES).

“It has been so stressful,” says Agne, who opened vegan bakery A. Pastry Shop on Cathcart Road in 2021.

“The cost of our ingredients has shot up by 100% – a bag of sugar that cost us £14 a year ago is now setting us back £28, for example, and our energy bills, staffing and rent have also increased.

“We always knew the first few years of our business would be the toughest, but these extra challenges have pushed our beloved bakery to the brink on more than one occasion.”

Developed with support from Royal Bank of Scotland and The Productivity Institute, the crowdfunder – which closes on Wednesday, December 20 - is running initially as a pilot, with A.Pastry Shop one of nine businesses across the country taking part.

Agne has run the vegan bakery since 2021 (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

Carolyn Currie, CEO at Women’s Enterprise Scotland, said: “As a research-led organisation, we are all too aware that access to finance is an enduring challenge for women starting up and growing a business. Our new crowdfunding platform ensures women get gender-specific, wrap-around support to help them throughout the finance-raising process.”

Inside A. Pastry Shop, boxes on the shelves are labelled with intriguing ingredients, like blue mallow flowers, pink peppercorns and chamomile. Trays are stacked high with chocolate orange chilli biscuits and empires oozing with dark cherry jam, and the smell is tantalising.

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Agne studied physics at university in her home country of Lithuania, but after three months, decided it was not for her.

“I could not sit still,” she smiles. “So I quit, and did a pastry course, and I loved it. I loved working with my hands, and the fact you could make something and see the result quickly.”

Agne at work in the Cathcart road shop (Image: Gordon Terris/Newsquest)

Agne, now 35, honed her craft in various bakeries and restaurants in Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Edinburgh and finally in Glasgow, where she worked for Three Sisters Bake.

“I learned so much there,” she says. “It was my first time managing, and I learned to believe in myself a lot more.”

When Covid hit, Agne was furloughed, and again, found it hard to sit still.

“I baked my way through it,” she says with a laugh. “I started selling pastries from my flat in Mount Florida. It was a great feeling. I was so happy when I was baking and I suddenly realised, I could run my own business…”

Using savings, and selling her flat in Vilnius, Agne put her heart and soul into making the idea a reality, and less than 12 months later, she opened A. Pastry Shop.

As well as selling thousands of buns, biscuits and pastries to the local community, she now supplies 15 cafes across Glasgow. Community is at the heart of the operation, says Agne.

“There is a good community feeling here,” she says. “Our neighbours are so friendly, and often people will give us ideas for what to make too.”

She adds, smiling: “It is a partnership.”

However, the cost-of-living crisis, and the war in Ukraine affecting supplies, have taken their toll and Agne now fears she will have to close down. She desperately needs to replace malfunctioning ovens, and buy an energy-efficient commercial freezer.

“The food and hospitality industry is risky, especially since Covid, and no-one wants to take a risk on the small fishes,” she explains.

“I’m proud of my business, I’m proud of what I have done but I have to ask for help. This is a last push to save my shop.”

To donate to the crowdfunder, visit the website before the closing date of Wednesday, December 20 here: womensbusinesscentre.com/product/help-our-neighbourhood-vegan-bakery-to-stay-alive-and-thrive/