The Heatherlea, Bangor

Bakeries seem to get the balance between tradition and innovation just right.

Many have been around for scores of years and have established themselves as the focal point on many high streets. At the same time they are breaking new ground and creating fantastic products for ever demanding consumers.

The Heatherlea in Bangor is one such bakery. Celebrating its 76 year, the business was acquired by husband and wife team Paul and Patricia Getty in 1990. Already an extremely popular store, Paul and Patricia – who hail from the town – set about expanding the range and volume of the bakery.

Paul came from a retail background so he and Patricia immersed themselves in all things bakery and today the Heatherlea does a great trade in the seaside town and has become a destination venue for locals and tourists alike.

Just outside Bangor is the production facility for the store where eight industrious bakers work night and day to produce the fantastic products sold in store and to local convenience stores in Northern Ireland.

2012 also saw the opening of a new retail outlet on the Belmont Road in Belfast last year the bakery was named Bakery of the Year 2013 at the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

“In Bangor we have traditional home bakery with cakes, pastries, breads and many Great Taste Award-winning products,” explained Paul.

“There’s also a deli, sandwich bar and we have a cafe/restaurant on site as well. It is split 50/50 between cafe and bakery/deli which is a counter about eight metres long.

The deli is very successful and a lot of our savouries from the bakery are sold on the deli side.”

The Heatherlea has a great mixture of traditional and artisan products, from Paul’s grandmother’s Christmas pudding recipe to more progressive products such as salted caramel slices, various muffins and cupcakes. There is a wealth of products right across the board for all customers.

When it comes to new products, ideas are driven by my wife in association with our bakers,” said Paul.

“Our cafe restaurant develops ideas too and the chefs there come up with ideas that make it through to bakery products. Staff are very active in listening to customer demands and we feed off that and act accordingly.”

Six years ago the Heatherlea doubled the size of the Bangor store and this expansion has helped lead to a period of growth that is seeing Paul and Patricia move towards the wholesale market.

“We are currently in the growth phase which is a great place to be. The past two years have been positive but we suffered in recession like everybody else,” revealed Paul.

“We had to work on costs, worked with staff with sales incentives to sell more products and we adapted the products to adapt to the market, which included more value packs. Business is currently going well and we are pleased with performance at this time and we are very keen to expand.”

Back at the store, Paul extols the values of the Heatherlea as a focal point for the community and says that some customers are in the store three to four times a week due to is location in the town centre.

It is also a perfect draw for tourists too as it is situated between the seafront and the train stations which makes it a bustling store.

“We like to see ourselves as the beating heart of Bangor. It’s very much a meeting place,” said Paul.

Winning the Bakery of the Year award was a great achievement for the team and Paul said it couldn’t have come at a better time as the business looks to expand.

Paul said: “We were delighted for both ourselves and the staff. It is a reflection of all the had work that goes into the business.  An awful of work goes on below the surface at a bakery and customers don’t see that or necessarily appreciate that. We actually have a DVD loop running on the store showing the operation of the guys in the bakery and it shows them that it is locally produced and not bought in.”

He added: “The Bakery of the Year title is great as it is a seal of approval when we go to meet with new customers.”

Paul and Patricia are now focusing on actively seeking business in the wholesale sector and the store in Belfast has been the foundation for this branch of the business.

Whilst the people of Bangor have been enjoying the produce of the Heatherlea for more than 70 years it looks like the rest of Northern Ireland could soon be sampling the best that this bakery has to offer…

Pictured is Paul and Patricia Getty