HOLE IN THE WALL OATCAKE MAKER GLENN RETURNS!
Hot plate sizzles again as he tries old mix
THE owner of a historic oatcake shop has made a return to the hot plate after a decade.
Glenn Fowler ran the Hole in the Wall in Waterloo Street, Hanley where customers queued to be served through the front window of an end-terrace house.
The business – regarded as the world’s last traditional oatcake shop – shut in 2012 after serving customers since the 1920s.
It was demolished in 2013 for a regeneration programme after four years of campaigning and a 5,000-strong petition failed to save it.
Now Glenn has used his delicious recipe once again after popping into Staffordshire Oatcakes in Broad Street, Hanley.
And there was a familiar feel at the shop – launched by Jason Adams in 2019 – as a traditional baxton iron griddle from Glenn’s Waterloo Street shop is used there. The historic hotplates are thought to be about 100 years old.
Glenn says he misses his former customers – but not the long days required to run a business. He said: “We were there for 30 years and we miss the customers.
“With Jason I basically wanted to see if my mix would still work and he’s kindly let me do that. We’ve enjoyed doing it – we’ve had one or two of the old customers come in and realise I’m cooking the mix again. It’s been quite an experience, I’ve enjoyed it.”
Since the Hole in the Wall closed, he’s been doing voluntary work with Meals on Wheels and carrying out jobs as a joiner.
Jason, who’s been making oatcakes for about a decade, said: “We have Glenn’s hot plates that we’re baking on. He wanted to come down and have a go at baking a few oatcakes since it’s been about 10 years since he last last did it.
“I think a lot of our customers know Glenn from the shop, because it was only the other side of Hanley.
“They all seemed very happy to see him and chat to him. They all said he hasn’t changed since he was at his shop 10 years ago.”
But the Hole in the Wall name has not been forgotten. There is The Hole In The Wall Oatcakes in Fenton – where Glenn’s recipe has been used by brothers Simon and Neil Wood.
Simon said: “The original Hole in the Wall had quite a sad ending and we’re giving it a new lease of life, it’s good for us and it’s good for them because it’s turned it into a bit of a happy story.”