Crumb & Co started with a borrowed mixer and a stubborn belief that a neighbourhood deserves proper bread. Here's how we got from there to the corner of Acorn Road.
We never set out to open a bakery. It happened one loaf at a time — and somehow the neighbours kept coming back for more.
It started at Priya's kitchen table in 2017 — a sourdough starter named Barry, a well-thumbed recipe book, and far too much bread to eat between two people. Friends began asking for loaves, then friends of friends, and soon Saturday mornings meant a queue at the front door.
By 2018 we'd taken a folding table to the Jesmond food market every weekend, come rain or Tyneside drizzle. When the little unit on Acorn Road came up for rent, we counted our savings, held our breath, and signed the lease. Crumb & Co opened its shutters in the spring of 2019.
We still do things the long way. The sourdough proves for 48 hours, the croissants are laminated over three days, and nothing leaves the shelf that we wouldn't happily take home ourselves. Barry the starter is now eight years old and, frankly, more famous than either of us.
These days there's a dog bowl by the door, regulars we know by name, and a chalkboard that changes with the seasons. We're small on purpose — small enough to remember your usual, and to save you the last cinnamon swirl if you text ahead.
One of us is up before the birds; the other keeps the coffee flowing and the queue smiling. Between them, they've never missed a morning bake.
Priya is the reason your alarm feels lazy — she's kneading dough by 5am and swears the quiet of an empty kitchen is the best part of the day. A former pastry chef in London, she moved north for the coast, the community, and a slower pace of life. She looks after every loaf, laminates every croissant, and is fiercely protective of Barry the starter.
"Good bread can't be rushed. You give it time, it gives you everything back."
Tom is the friendly face you meet at the till, the one who remembers you take your flat white with an extra shot on a Monday. A Geordie born and raised, he spent years pulling espresso in the Ouseburn before teaming up with Priya. He runs the coffee bar, keeps the playlist just right, and does all the sums neither of them enjoy.
"A bakery isn't just about the bread — it's about who you see when you walk in."
Small choices, made over and over, are what make a loaf worth queuing for. These are ours.
Long ferments and slow lamination. If it needs three days, it gets three days — no additives, no cheating the clock.
Ouseburn-roasted coffee, Northumbrian rapeseed oil, flour milled just up the valley. Good neighbours make good bakes.
What doesn't sell goes to the community fridge round the corner, never the bin. Yesterday's loaf becomes today's breadcrumbs.
There's a fresh pot on and, if you're lucky, a warm sourdough just out of the oven. Whether it's a loaf to take home or a natter over coffee, you're always welcome at Crumb & Co.