Daily Apron owners step back from café business to focus on bakery expansion
The co-owners of Lisburn bakery, The Daily Apron have announced they are stepping back from their café situated in Smyth Patterson department store.
After 12 years running the café in the city centre institution, Katrina Collins and Cathy Stevenson have decided to centre their attention on their bakery, which continues to enjoy significant growth.
Established in 2021, The Daily Apron won Bakery of the Year at the 2022 Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, while their plain sourdough bread has also won the gold award at the UK World Bread Awards.
Katrina and Cathy’s first foray into the catering business saw them run the 80-seat café, previously called Arora, in Smyth Patterson. Having made everything from scratch to sell in the café, they decided to open their artisan bakery in Halloween 2021, which Katrina described as a “natural transition”.
Since opening The Daily Apron, Katrina, Cathy and the entire team have enjoyed great success, quickly earning a name for themselves as the go-to artisanal bakery in Lisburn.
They have also branched out into the wholesale market, supplying breads, afternoon teas, scones and sourdough to other cafés in Lisburn, Hillsborough and Dungannon, and are also regular attenders at the farmers’ market in Dungannon.
Katrina told NR that as the bakery business has grown so much, they made the difficult decision to step back from their café and are looking forward to exciting developments at The Daily Apron.
“With the growth in our bakery business we have decided to focus our efforts on that side of the business and will be handing over the cafe to a new owner on 1st August. Ivan will continue to have our bakes and products in the café,” said Katrina.
“We are so proud of all we achieved in the 12 years at Smyth Patterson but are excited for the times ahead.
‘It is our greatest pride to have had our café in Smyth Patterson for the last 12 years’
“As we have outgrown our capacity in the current space, we will be taking on an additional production unit to support this expansion.
“It is our greatest pride to have had our café in Smyth Patterson for the last 12 years. We cannot begin to thank everyone who has supported us, especially Colin. Our girls have been the best team and we are proud to have helped so many on their journey through life.”
Additionally, in their commitment to provide the best bread and pastries to their customers, Cathy has travelled to Canada to gain further skills.
“Cathy our head baker has just started a five-week sabbatical in Vancouver with a French baker,” added Katrina.
“She will bring back her new and strengthened skills to The Daily Apron to share with the team and bring even more delicious pastries and bread to our customers.”
