Emma's Bakes in Egremont celebrates successful opening

Emma Scurr, who is originally from Egremont, alongside her husband Chris opened 'Emma's Bakes' at the end of July on Egremont Main Street. People are coining the business a cafe or a bakery, but Emma said 'catering' businesses encompasses that all.

After being furloughed from work in 2020, Emma started baking, simply as a hobby but friends had quickly begun asking her to bake for them. One pal asked Emma if she would cater for her Jubilee street party, which she did and was incredibly well-received.

The snug area of the cafe (Image: Emma's Bakes)

Emma then set up a Facebook after all the positive feedback, which she admitted was very nerve-wracking, she said: "I was bullied in school, and it made me really nervous. I was wondering if anyone would order."

And ordering is exactly what everyone did, Emma was inundated with orders which meant she quickly outgrew her kitchen, but her husband Chris' dad said she could convert his garage into a kitchen to grow the business as space was needed to expand and have better facilities.

Once again, Emma and her bakes started to outgrow this facility which is when they started looking at shop, but Emma swore she would wait until her wedding. She said: "Two weeks before the wedding, the shop came up and I thought it was perfect. Although a cafe was not the original plan for the sellers, they were so impressed by us, they agreed."

The décor was specifically picked by Emma (Image: Emma's Bakes)

After getting the shop ready, Emma's Bakes was officially opened on July 31 and the queues were out the door and down the street, and Emma was sold out of her bakes which would usually last up to one days, in just one. She said: "It was unbelievable, and overwhelming, but there were people from all over messages about coming to us. On one post on Facebook, we had over 100,000 interactions."

"The best thing is meeting so many people, we were both suprised at how many people we know just through doing this businesses. It is also great to be able to work with Chris, we have for over 13 years now."

Afternoon tea at Emma's Bakes (Image: Emma's Bakes)

But Emma can never rest, she is already thinking of the next steps for her business! This includes renovating the upstairs section of the building to allow additional seating so more people can enjoy what is on offer, as well as allow that area to be rented out for baby showers, christenings, birthdays etc.

Emma's Bakes is located on Egremont Main Street, at the site of the former bridal shop and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 8am-5pm.