A Derbyshire family bakery has stepped up its bread production three-fold in the wake of the supermarket shortages experienced throughout the county.
Stacey's Bakery, which has branches in Ilkeston’s South Street and Bath Street, as well as Eastwood and Heanor, bakes everything by hand to recipes that have been in the family since the early 1900s - and the team are now working around the clock to meet demand, in the wake of the Covid-19 shortages.
Managing Director, David Stacey said: "At present, we are baking three times the amount of loaves we usually do- and double the cobs. Each morning we are getting queues of customers who are frazzled after visiting the local supermarkets, and leaving empty handed"
"We have upped our production three-fold, but we still have the capacity to bake even more if we feel the demand is there. We are keeping the ovens going throughout the morning when bread production would normally have finished. We have been overwhelmed with support from the local community and we cannot thank them enough for supporting our local family business."
In addition to the increased footfall, the team have also seen a huge spike in visitors to its online shop, which is proving a good option for people to order what they want, and then collect it in-store to avoid disappointment.
David continued: "We are trying to keep all of our product lines going, but we will certainly prioritise bread and items like sausage rolls, if we have to. At present, our online shop has the full range available, but please be patient with us when you come in-store to collect if there are certain things we don't have. We are also reminding our customers to check on their neighbours and offer to collect items for them if they order online themselves.
"During this time, we are of course being extra vigilant with cleaning all contact surfaces. We are still taking cash, but it may be sensible for customers to use the contactless payment option if they are able to."
As the World Health Organisation announced earlier today that the UK death toll is continuing to climb, and the Archbishop of Canterbury described the virus as a 'nuclear explosion', food outlets are having to adapt in order to survive and that’s something that Stacey's has embraced.
David added: "We are aware that many of our clients are elderly and may be at risk, making it hard for them to visit us. We are now looking into offering limited home deliveries in the local area, starting with Ilkeston, then spreading to areas surrounding our other shops. Watch this space for when this will begin, manpower permitting!"
The bakery team have even thought about the children stuck at home during this time and will be offering a pack of naked gingerbread men at a reduced price for kids to decorate at home, as a boredom-busting activity.
For more information, please visit www.staceysbakery.co.uk
