Matthew Jones, the founder of viral bakery spot Bread Ahead, dropped a bombshell on social media last week.
“Borough Market have informed us that Bread Ahead needs to leave the estate,” he told hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram. “The reason the charity has given us is that we’re too successful, and have franchised internationally.” He said leaving the market would result in the loss of 83 jobs.
Jones, incensed by the decision, asked his followers to alert the press. “Tag Sky News, BBC, Evening Standard, Metro, the Guardian, everybody.”
But newsrooms across the capital (including The Londoner) were already being made aware of the story by Bread Ahead’s PR firm Samphire Communications. Usually tasked with mailing out news about Sourdough September or a recent collaboration with Clarence Court eggs, the firm put out a plea to spread the word and use the hashtag #SaveBreadAhead. Soon there were dozens of articles and news segments about the battle between the market and its star baker. In some quarters, it even became an emblem for Britain’s lack of ambition. “Since when is building an iconic British business grounds for eviction?!?!” wrote one supporter on LinkedIn.
The co-ordinated push came in the middle of a back-and-forth between the business and Borough Market. For days, the charity which runs the site, Borough Market Trust, has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing the confidentiality of its communications with tenants. But after digging into what’s going on this past week, The Londoner has secured new details of negotiations between the parties.
As we looked further into it, we also realised that this is not the first time Jones has operated a bakery in the market, and that this previous business was also asked to leave – but in very different circumstances, which also happen to involve the multi-millionaire backer of Gail’s Bakery.
This latest episode has opened up a debate about who ‘deserves’ a spot in the in-demand market, where potential traders wait years for a plot. It also highlights the challenges the market’s managers face as they balance charitable aims with businesses that will do anything to cling onto pitches at the site, which attracts 15 million visitors a year.
‘It was a disaster’
Bread Ahead’s story goes all the way back to when Jones first opened his bakery in Borough Market. Not Bread Ahead, but Flour Power City.
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