Has Bread Ahead really risen too much for Borough Market?

At 10am, a bell rings out across Borough Market. It’s a member of staff at Bread Ahead enthusiastically shaking a brass handbell to signify the stall’s fresh doughnuts are ready for sale. A crowd has already gathered to be first in the queue for the bakery’s raspberry jam, vanilla custard and crème brûlée treats. On a typical day, the stand will shift 4,000 doughnuts and 1,000 pastries. They are not only available here. From its humble beginnings in the Southwark gastronomic citadel 13 years ago, Bread Ahead has grown into a sizeable business. Its turnover runs into many millions and there are now seven branches across London along with three overseas, in Bangkok, Riyadh and Dubai. Baking classes are held at some branches, including Borough.In all, Bread Ahead employs 83 full-time staff. Its bakery school upstairs at Borough hosts “500 to 600” local schoolchildren each week, who come to learn to make bread and doughnuts. The general public and corporate parties also attend its workshops. Matthew Jones, the founder and owner, says the Big Apple is next. “It’s all self-funded and it’s six months late and over budget but New York opens mid-November,” he says, smiling. Jones, 56, cuts a relaxed figure, trim and bearded, wearing a branded black baseball cap and T-shirt as he tours the market and his premises. Dubbed the “King of Doughnuts”, he is personable, a natural charmer and showman who stops to greet fellow stall-holders and welcome customers. But it’s uncertain how much longer he’ll be here — because Bread Ahead has not had its lease renewed. It has been told it is “too successful” and has grown too much internationally to occupy space at the artisanal market. Jones left school at 15 in Sevenoaks, Kent, and got a job in the kitchen of a local restaurant. “I loved everything about it — the uniform, atmosphere, attitude, service, the freshness, chasing Michelin stars,” he says.Matthew Jones, bakerBread AgainFrom there, he worked at a rollcall of top London restaurants — among them Quaglino’s, Le Pont de la Tour and Bibendum, before ending up as head pastry chef at Mezzo. He learned from Shaun Hill, John Torode, Simon Hopkinson and Sir Terence Conran. In 1999, Jones opened Flour Power City Bakery in Hoxton. It grew quickly, soon adding another outlet in Kent. Over the next 12 years, Flour Power built up a reputation for excellence and was featured in the press and on TV. Jones obtained funding from serial hospitality investor and entrepreneur Luke Johnson. But the pair pulled in different directions — Johnson went on to grow Gail’s, where he is still part-owner — and they split. They are still on friendly terms; they bumped into each other recently and, Jones says, had a good chat. But he was, by his own admission, left “messed up” — in a bad place, financially and mentally. However, during that period with Flour Power, he had developed close relations with Borough Market. Flour Power had a site there, although in 2011 it, too, was asked to quit, along with several other traders which were deemed too large and non-independent. As one lot departed, a new crop entered, among them a revitalised Jones with his new venture, Bread Ahead. He had decided to rejoin the trade he adored and to try again. The queues formed straightaway and, 13 years on, have never disappeared.“We could not believe it”Matthew JonesJones was approached by the market, which is run by a charitable trust, six months ago to say his lease was due for renewal and it wished to conduct a “food policy review”. This looked at everything to do with sustainability, sourcing and whether the company obeyed regulatory requirements such as paying the minimum wage. Read More“I felt they were on our side,” he says. “It took six months to go through it all. Then, we were called to a ‘final meeting’ in their office. They told us straight, ‘We will not be renewing your lease.’ We could not believe it. I wanted to know why we’d spent six months and passed the lot, only to be told this. That’s when they said you’re franchised internationally and you’re too successful.” It didn’t make sense. “We’d been franchising for five years and they’d never said anything. There are other stallholders who have opened branches, yet we were the one they wanted out.”Ginger Pig, a Borough fixture, has spawned additional butcher shops, as has Gelateria 3Bis ice cream and the Arabica Lebanese restaurant; the list goes on. But Bread Ahead is the one which has been told to leave.Bread AheadThere are those who maintain the move is justified, that the modern market was established to promote independent businesses and the likes of Bread Ahead are squeezing them out. Jones received his chance; now new entrants deserve theirs. “It makes me physically sick to hear that, when I think of all the children we’ve taught, all the apprenticeships and chances I’ve given,” he says.Nor does there appear to be a hard and fast rule that if you reach a certain size you must go. If there was, that would be open and understood. But there isn’t. Critically, too, it’s not as if the market is full. As we walk around, Jones is able to point to several empty units, some of which appear to have been in that condition for years. This seems to run counter to the legend that Borough is stretched to capacity, there is no more space and would-be traders are clamouring to get in. “It’s bullshit there is demand to get in,” says Jones. “I know of at least two that have been empty for seven years.”Next door to his bakery school there are two large, locked-up spaces, which are clearly vacated and desolate. Jones has applied to take one of them over and increase the size of his school. “We offered for it and they turned it down.” He does a quick sum. “This is one of those that has been empty for seven years. At £80,000 a year to rent, that’s £560,000 they’ve lost.”“It’s Borough Market that is taking away people’s opportunities, not me”Matthew JonesThe easy manner has faded now. He is visibly annoyed. “It’s Borough Market that is taking away people’s opportunities, not me,” he says. “Yes, I’m successful; yes, I’ve got branches. That’s because we’ve got a product that people want.” He is waving towards the line of folks at his stall. “We’re a bakery that will soon export our doughnuts to New York, to the US, to the home of doughnuts. We’re a disruptor brand and we should be celebrated, not made to leave.”It is far from certain that he will go. His lawyers, he says, were able to prove that the market forgot to renew the ground-floor lease formally in 2020, which means it is protected. “They’ve accepted we’ve made the case, which is fantastic, so we’re waiting to hear what they propose.”He will stay if he can. If it’s any consolation, it would seem he is not alone. Maria’s Market Café, a Borough stalwart for 60 years — it even hosted the then Prince Charles and Camilla when they visited in 2013 — has also received its marching orders. It underwent the same type of review when its lease came up for renewal. In a petition against the decision, the café writes: “This decision came without any explanation or prior warning, leaving us and our loyal patrons devastated. This sudden decision threatens not only a family owned business but also a piece of London’s vibrant history.”The market is saying little. On Bread Ahead it says: “We continue to be in contact with the Bread Ahead team about their future at the market, but as discussions relating to individual tenancies are confidential it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific details of this case.” On Maria’s, it says: “As a responsible landlord, we follow all legal requirements when dealing with our tenants on issues relating to their occupation at the market.“As you’d expect, we treat the details of anything business related with any of our traders as confidential and do not feel it is appropriate to comment further at this stage while discussions are still ongoing.”If Bread Ahead and Maria’s close, they will be missed. They may stay. Whatever happens, the result is a nasty taste.