Customers in tears as bakery which survived two bombings closes its doors
IT IS quite simply a Swansea institution. Kristy’s Bakery has been serving up pies, pastries, its famous custard slices and animal biscuits to generations of people living in the city and further afield since the 1930s.
But the iconic business, which has also fed presidents and famous actors is closing its doors for a final time, and some of its customers have been reduced to tears by the news.
The bakery, located in Eversley Road in Sketty, has legions of loyal customers thanks to the hard work and dedication of its head baker, Antonio Carra, who has made a huge success of the business since he took over back in 1997, embracing its original recipes whilst adding his own twist by introducing traditional Italian breads, cakes and pasta sauces to the shop – including focaccia, pizzas, cannoli and panettone.
But that’s not where its fascinating story begins. It all started when Alice Marjorie Taylor – with help from her sister Kathleen – opened a small bakery and cafe in St Helen’s Road, Swansea. Their popular shop sold bread, cakes and pies – the same recipes which are used to this day. Among the bakery’s early customers, it is believed that a young Dylan Thomas used to visit the original cafe back in the mid1930s.
Alice continued to build her new venture for a few years until war broke out and the bakery was bombed. But this didn’t spell the end of Kristy’s, with the sisters opening a new bakehouse in Alexandra Road.
But the bad luck kept coming as the Alexandra Road bakery soon became another casualty of bomb damage, forcing them to change premises once again. In the early 1940s, the sisters made their final move to Eversley Road in Sketty, where the bakery has remained ever since.
In 1955, a 15-year-old apprentice called Alan Jenkins joined the staff. The keen youngster forged a career in baking and remained with Kristy’s for 20 years, eventually taking over as
owner in 1975. His craftsmanship pleased hundreds of customers over the years, including former US president Jimmy Carter who enjoyed Kristy’s handmade truffles when he visited Swansea in 1995. Mr Carra then took on the reins, entering the business with a wealth of knowledge through 20 years of culinary experience running restaurants in Italy, England, Wales and Canada
The bakery is famous for its custard slices, Swansea pies, and animal biscuits, which are made using the original cutters from the 1930s. Inside, there is a distinctly traditional feel, with the old counters, display units and cash register still in use. Mr Carra has turned his hand at making unique chocolate constructions to raise as much money as possible for many different charities and good causes through the years, including nativity scenes, a seven kilo chocolate pudding, six pound Christmas chocolate logs, a two-foot-tall nine pound snowman, an angel made with 3kg of white chocolate, and much much more.
But now, aged 71, the time has come for Mr Carra to hang up his apron for good and retire. Customers filtering into the bakery were full of well wishes for him and his partner, Teresa Stares, who works there with him. One asked the question: “What am I going to do next week?”
Another customer, Peter Rumbelow said: “It is devastating to see it go. It is an end of an era for the whole street. There was lots of people who got married in Swansea who had their wedding cakes from here, and others who had cakes for christenings. Those animal biscuits, every child in Swansea had one of those.”
Mr Carra said: “It’s been very busy, with everyone knowing I’m shutting.
Customers have said it is sad, very, very sad for them and some have been crying. Some have been coming here for 60 or 70 years. It has been very overwhelming to see all the cards and messages and people coming in saying nice things.
“I can’t stay upstairs and hear it, I stay downstairs. I feel very sorry to let them down, but the time has come for me to retire. We could carry on for another couple of years, but in another couple of years I would say the same thing.
“I am up at 5am every day – it will be nice to be able to know I can go back to bed for a few hours if I want to! I plan to go on holidays and spend time in Italy to see my family, I have not been for a long time.
“I’ve got two pages of orders I’ve got to finish off before I go. A lot of people have made big orders because they want to fill their freezers with things from the bakery – they want bread, pies, pasties, biscuits. It is a compliment, and makes me really feel I have achieved throughout the years something that many other businesses have not. I’m doing everything by hand and the recipes are still the same as they were in the old days, and I do a few new things with new recipes.”
Kristy’s Bakery closes for a final time today at 1pm. It remains up for sale and is being marketed by Dawsons Property for £375,000.
But there is already some hope yet that the bakery will continue on in the future under different ownership.
Mr Carra explained: “There might be somebody taking it over. I’ve had a few people wanting to rent, some want to buy. It is a case of first come, first served. Both people want to keep the bakery going and keep the name, and keep the coffee shop going. I would like to see it continue as a bakery for the sake of my customers. I would like to say a big thank you to all of my customers and to all of my staff through the years past and present.”
Mr Carra’s partner, Teresa, who has helped Mr Carra out working at the
It’s been very busy, with everyone knowing I’m shutting. Customers have said it is sad, very, very sad for them and some have been crying. Some have been coming here for 60 or 70 years. It has been very overwhelming to see all the cards and messages and people coming in saying nice things Owner Antonio Carra
bakery since just before the coronavirus pandemic, added: “It has been such a community here. We have customers in their nineties who have come here as children.
“Some remember coming here as a child in the war. There have been customers who have been loyal for years and years, and years. It is an end of an era, it really is.
“People go away and come back, and say the food is still the same as they remember it. It has really been a place which has had food memories for so many.”