A big thank you for sticking with Laines Bakery in Blackpool for the last 40 years!
A popular Blackpool bakery is celebrating 40 fabulous years in business with cherry bakewell cheesecakes, free personalised tote bags and a competition for customers.
Laines Bakery is a family-run business that first opened its doors in 1984.
Sally and Robert Laine run the company today, but Roberts's parents started the business in 1984. They moved from their old bakery, called A Laine and Son, to Blackpool, where they have resided ever since. The bakery is located on Oxford Road in Blackpool.
The business has been celebrating the milestone by offering customers a new cherry Bakewell cheesecake.
They have also been giving out tote bags for free to customers who spend more than £5, along with a candle for them to take photos of their baked goods and bags, post them on social media, and tag the bakery.
This will enter them into a competition that will be decided at the end of this week, with the winner of the best photo being awarded a free whole-cherry Bakewell cheesecake.
Sally Laine said, "I think staying in business is an accomplishment these days. We are lucky because we have a lot of really loyal customers. We have people who have been coming here since before my husband's parents bought it because it was a bakery before that as well. That has been a major part of our success."
Mrs Laine had a message for customers loyal to the bakery for years: "Just thank you, a big thank you for sticking with us. We had a fire a few years ago (2021). We were closed, and then we reopened, and then we couldn't produce as much stuff, and they were just great; they stuck by us and kept coming back; they are lovely; they are like a little community; we couldn't do it without the staff either, and they are great."
The 40 years have not all been plain sailing, as the bakery had a fire in May 2021 forcing the business to close for a short period of time. But looking back, Mrs Laine reflects that the impact of the fire was not all bad. It allowed everyone working at the bakery to reset, as they had been working very, very hard prior to the fire. Afterwards, the bakery was able to reduce opening hours and work at a more manageable and consistent pace.
Mrs Laine said, "It was a really worrying time, but we managed to get through it. We are happy that we did and that we managed to carry on. A lot of people said that we should give up now, but we know it's a good, strong business, and we reopened. Now, we are only open Wednesday through Saturday.
"We are in a residential area, and we are lucky to have many repeat customers, the same kind of customers. Many come in for a chat, a sandwich, and a pie. We know their business; they know our business. It's a familiar face; they see the same people, and they come and buy the same things. They just like that."
Some of the bakery's most popular orders include lemon meringue cheesecake and pies.