Stuart's Bakery celebrates 20 years of business

Stuart's Bakery is celebrating its 20th anniversary today.

The family-run artisan bakery has stores in Castleton Walk Arcade on Newton Road and on Gower Road in Killay.

"It's a milestone, it feels great," said Leanne Matuschke, who has been working for the bakery for nearly 16 years.

The bakery, run by Mrs Matuschke's husband, Stuart, expanded its business to include a Mumbles site four years ago.

Lockdown has limited how the bakery can celebrate, so they have decided to give something back to the community by doing a give-away throughout February.

Customers can tag Stuart's in a social media post and show staff next time they're in the shop to receive a thank-you token from the business.

The bakery also organised a competition to win a focaccia lunch, one of their most popular breads.

"It's about working together, really, with the community," Mrs Matuschke continued.

"You can have something from us, if it's bread, or your lunch, or whatever it may be, we're giving something back and working together. They share it for us, and we give them a token back and celebrate our 20th year as well."

Like many local businesses in the area, Stuart's has been impacted by the lockdown restrictions.

"In March, it was a total stop, and everybody had to re-adjust to everything the government gave us. It was a real team effort, and we adapted the best we could," Mrs Matuschke said.

The business adapted to deliver their goods to customers, reducing their shop opening hours to accommodate this.

"We've adapted, I would think as a team, great, but it's been tough," Mrs Matuschke continued.

"Thank goodness we're still here, is all I can say. Thanks to our community and new and old customers supporting us, social media, staff – we've had a really great team who have been behind us all the way.

"Big businesses are falling around us which is really scary. In 20 years, we've seen highs and lows, but it's about bringing back independents and shopping local, bringing everybody together to support each other, whatever line of business you're in.

"I think it's fantastic that everybody works together."

You can find out more about Stuart's Bakery HERE.