Stroud's Five Valleys Food Hall has announced plans for one of its original traders — and SGGLA Highly Commended Cafe/Coffee Shop of the Year — The Artisan Baker to expand into a second unit at the town centre shopping venue.
The award-winning bakery and cafe, owned by Ori Hellerstein, joined the lineup at Five Valleys five years ago and continuing popularity growth has led to it expanding into a neighbouring unit that has previously been occupied by Los Cubanos — which will be relocating to a new purpose-built market unit.
Ori said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow our presence at Five Valleys and build on the loyal customer base we've already established. Our aim is to create a beautiful cafe and bakery — similar to what we’ve developed at our Imperial Park branch in Cheltenham — with a fresh menu featuring dishes like eggs Benedict and our popular shakshuka.
'The expansion will allow us to offer over 20 covers and create a more complete cafe experience, serving our dishes on elegant crockery in a clean, welcoming setting. While dining in, customers will also be able to see our bakers in action through our open-plan bakery — baking fresh goods and showcasing their craft.'
Serving a wide selection of hot and cold drinks, alongside a range of fresh baked goods, the additional space will allow the Artisan Baker team to start dishing out options for breakfast, brunch and lunch, including fresh sandwiches and toasties, while keeping up with its wholesale operations.
With work beginning on the market hall upgrades in May 2025, the expanded Artisan Baker and all-new Los Cubanos restaurant — including a brand-new bar — is set to be revealed later in the summer.
All businesses will continue to trade throughout the improvement works, with Los Cubanos owners, Alexis Medina and H Plewis operating a pop-up stall at the centre in the meantime.
Erika Malpass, Five Valleys centre manager, said: 'Our late Friday market is really popular and a new bar area is going to allow us to build on that, creating the potential for more evening activities in the centre.
'The plans look fantastic and we can’t wait to see the finished units.'
