The bakery will replace the old Baltic Bakehouse which closed unexpectedly earlier this year
Usher’s Bakehouse could open by the end of the month(Image: Elite Bistros)
A new bakery is coming to Liverpool city centre. For many years, the Baltic Bakehouse on Bridgewater Street was a popular destination in the Baltic Triangle.
Opened in 2013, the business offered a number of ‘signature’ loaves, including the ‘Baltic Wild’ sourdough loaf, as well as a range of breakfast pastries, buns and bloomers baked wholesale to sell to hospitality industry clients across the city region. Its owners boasted that it was “one of the first new businesses that helped kickstart the area’s reputation”.
But the business closed unexpectedly earlier this year, with its sites in the Baltic and Allerton Road in south Liverpool shutting down. The ECHO revealed in April that the sites had closed voluntarily following an inspection by Liverpool City Council.
It has now been confirmed that a new bakery will take over the Baltic site. It will be run by Chester-based restaurateur and chef Gary Usher, whose Elite Bistros firm runs Wreck restaurant on Seel Street.
It will be called Usher’s Bakehouse, like his bakery in Chester of the same name which has become a popular destination in the Hoole area of the city. On its opening day in August 2024, the bakery reported there had been queues early in the morning to get in with its bread and cookies “selling out fast”.
Speaking to the ECHO about the news, Gary acknowledged they will be joining a competitive market of artisan bakeries and cafes in Liverpool.
He said: “One thing I would like to say about the Baltic Triangle – we look at the other bakeries and they’re absolutely incredible. We’re inspired by them. If the people who live and work in the Baltic like our cakes and bread, that’s good enough for us.”
The Baltic Bakehouse closed earlier this year(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Gary was given this opportunity by the landlords of the Bridgewater Street building and felt it was too good of an opportunity to turn down.
He said: “The landlords got in touch with us and they said, look, we’ve got this site in the Baltic. They liked the look of what we did and said, would you be interested in taking it over, it could be a simple transition?
“We went to have a look and we loved it. It’s rustic and it’s already a bakery. It’s not about us lending a load of money or doing a crowd funder to get it going, just a bit of elbow grease, giving it a bit of a deep clean and a fresh lick of paint.
“We would love for it to be open by the end of August.”
Gary credited his baker, Nathan Brocklebank, for the success of the Chester site. He said: “I can’t lie, it has gone very well. People seem to love it. You can sort of see why – Nathan has been specialising in pastry and bread for the last 30 years. He’s worked everywhere from Michelin-star restaurants to football grounds. It shows that he likes what he does.”
Gary has had to close some of his venues in recent years. Like others in hospitality, he said it was getting harder to stay afloat amid rising costs but this venture was too enticing to turn down.
Inside Usher’s Bakehouse in the Baltic Triangle(Image: Elite Bistros)
He said: “It’s really hard at the moment. We’re doing everything we can and trying to be creative. We’re trying to be the best we can be and that’s all we can really do.
“2025 has been tough. We’re hoping by next year that things will get back to normal a little bit. We’re not out of the woods yet, it’s about being as clever as we can.
“This opportunity in Liverpool is an amazing one because there’s no outlay for us other than getting our hands dirty. It’s still difficult out there.”