Glasgow bakery Sweet Jane Bakehouse opens under new management in Dennistoun

Sweet Jane Bakehouse in Dennistoun reopened on Saturday, June 25, after it was taken over by brother and sister team Allan Cuthbert and Lynn Stevenson.

The bakery’s previous owners announced they were leaving the business at the end of April, before Allan and Lynn, from Kilmarnock, learned the Duke Street bakery was theirs at the end of May.

Allan Cuthbert and Lynn Stevenson

Lynn explained: "Allan was coming up for retirement. He was in the police, and he served his time as an apprenticeship baker years ago and he was thinking about doing something very much on a smaller scale than this and it just came about that we saw the previous owners were giving it up and I got in touch with them and it just went from there.

"Allan is the baker and I’ve got a few other businesses I run, so I’m the business head behind it."

She continued: "We spent a few weeks just cleaning it and renovating it a little bit and freshening it up, and we found another girl Lily [Blair] who’s our other baker and it just went from there.

"So, the two of them were test baking like mad for a couple of weeks."

Lemon and blueberry mini loaf cakes

Allan, who completed his baking apprenticeship 30 years ago, says so far he’s "loving" being back in a bakery.

He said: "I’ve always kept my hand in, not professionally, but I’ve always baked.

"My wife says if I’m stressed, I go and bake something.

"I knew what I was going into, I knew it was going to be hard work for a while to get it up and running and it’s great."

Knotted cinnamon bun

Both Allan and Lynn say the support from the local community has been "fantastic", with them even completely selling out of items by 12pm on their opening day after a queue formed right down the street.

Lynn said: "It’s been mad, it’s been really good, we’ve sold out most days really quickly. We just hope it goes from strength to strength.

"People have been really, really friendly. Last week people were coming in saying 'welcome to Dennistoun' and getting their loaves and stuff so it’s been great.

"The other businesses around have been fab when we’ve been struggling for little things. Like carrier bags I forgot to buy last Saturday, the butcher came over with some for me, so just things like that they’ve been really good at helping us."

Allan Cuthbert

Allan agrees that local businesses have been "brilliant" as they find their feet.

He added: "It’s been absolutely fantastic, better than I hoped for and the local businesses on either side of us have been helping us.

"The flour supplier, because we’re just new, trying to work out how much we need and when we need it is a bit of a logistical nightmare and you’re supposed to order it one day to get it the next but this morning I phoned them [Greencity] and said 'can I get some' so they’ve been really helpful.

"We’ve had no obstacles at all, everybody’s been so helpful."

Those looking to enjoy Sweet Jane Bakehouse’s goods will have to get there early though as Lynn says the bakery is selling out most days.

She said: "The bread just goes, it sells out really quickly.

"Bread is what Sweet Jane is renowned for, and when we took over we took over their previous recipes for the bread as well so it’s the same bread we’re producing and everybody absolutely loves it."

While the bakery is already proving to be as popular as ever, customers will have an even wider selection to look forward to soon.

"I think we really just need to perfect exactly what it is we’re doing because we’ve had a lot of different cakes in the display, and we now have a better understanding of what people are looking for," Lynn says.

"Our prover oven, unfortunately, broke the day before we opened, and one of Lily’s fortes is croissants and pastries, so we’re just waiting for a new one to be delivered.

"When that comes that will make a big difference because we’ll do a lot of really nice buttery croissants and pain au chocolat, things like that."

Sweet Jane Bakehouse is located at 434 Duke Street and is open Wednesday to Sunday from 9am until sell-out.