Don’t leave it too late! Harwoods Patisserie keeps selling out during incredible first week at new Standish shop
If you’re planning a trip to Harwoods Patisserie’s new shop in Standish, there’s one fairly important piece of advice: don’t leave it too late.
Andrew and Sarah Harwood opened the doors to their new Pepper Lane premises on Tuesday 4th August, and it’s fair to say their first week hasn’t gone quite as they expected.
Not because it’s been quiet. Quite the opposite.
They sold out on Tuesday. They sold out again on Wednesday. They had to close completely on Thursday just so their small team could make enough food to fill the fridges again.
Then they reopened on Friday… and sold out again. By 3pm, the doors were closing.
“Please don’t leave it too late in the day,” the Harwoods team told customers on Friday afternoon. “We are making the maximum we can but they are going fast!”
And it’s not as though they hadn’t made plenty. In the first two days alone, the team made around 600 pies, 300 sandwiches, 500 bakery treats and 400 desserts – around 1,800 items in total.
But with everything handmade by their small team, the demand was simply more than they had expected, leading to Thursday’s decision to keep the doors closed and spend the day getting stocked back up.
The move to 2 Pepper Lane is a big step for Harwoods, which had been based on High Street in Standish for almost six years.
Andrew and Sarah had spent around three years looking for somewhere bigger before buying the former Gent’s Pie Shop, with previous owners Malcolm and Carole Gent giving the couple their blessing to take over the premises. The extra space has allowed Harwoods to expand what it does. Alongside the patisserie desserts, handmade chocolates and macarons it is known for, the new shop is now making pies, sandwiches and bakery items, as well as serving coffee and drinks.
There is also seating for customers outside, improved facilities for staff and a dedicated space which will be used for baking courses.
Bolton-born Andrew has worked in hotels and restaurants for more than 20 years and was a finalist on Bake Off: The Professionals.
He launched Harwoods as an artisan market business in 2018 before he and Sarah opened their first permanent Standish shop on High Street in 2020. The move to Pepper Lane marks the next stage for the business, although judging by its first week, the immediate challenge might simply be making enough to keep the shelves full.
Harwoods is due to open again at 10am on Saturday, with the team warning customers that it will be a case of open until sell-out.
So if you’ve got your eye on one of those pies, sandwiches or something sweet, you might want to take their advice and get there sooner rather than later.
