FOOD & DR INK
Imagine if you had interesting stuff to do right on your doorstep – it makes you feel part of something. That’s what my favourite thing about the shop is: it’s all about the community, these people who might have seen each other at schools, at supermarkets – but now they meet at the shop as well. Ely’s dying for more businesses like this. You’ve got such a mix of people here: it’s the perfect commuter town, and it’s so pretty.” Luca talks fondly about the groups of people who would come to his farmers’ market pitch and stock up on bread. “People would walk out laden,” he says. “And now they come to the shop – and they stop coming to Ely only twice a month, they now come to Ely regularly – and they say they can’t wait for me to open on a Wednesday, because they’ll come in then, too. You see all those articles about shops shutting down in Ely – but you just have to come up with something that people want, and build that relationship. There’s a number of people who, though they might not need bread that week, they might not need that pastry, come because they want to support you.” Luca’s schedule and the fact that all his bakes are started two days in advance means he doesn’t currently get a full day off in the week. He’s been known to leave social events early to refresh the leaven and after his children go to bed, will regularly head back to the unit to check on the loaves’ progress. “It’s constant,” he admits. “But I enjoy that, I really do – it’s a living thing, it’s part of what I do. And with bread, there is a degree of flexibility:
This calm and careful growth meant he was able to take opportunities when they presented themselves: a chance to take over a professional catering unit meant the business could move out of the garage and step up to the next level. “It’s so weird,” he laughs. “I honestly thought I’d be in the garage for a year. I’d been in there what, two – three months? And now I’m in this unit in Witchford, ten minutes away. There was always a plan, but the time frame was nothing like what it turned out to be. It just all fell into place.” Interestingly, the shop that’s now the site of such bustling weekend trade – soon to be repeated on Wednesdays for a new midweek bake – wasn’t in that plan. “Originally, I didn’t even want a shop – I was working two Saturdays a month, earning pocket money – the wholesale business was taking care of itself – and I was living on the money, having a good lifestyle,” he says. “And then the opportunity of the shop came along: the building was awesome, and it was on the right side of town.” The friendships Luca’s made while selling bread at Ely Market have relocated to the shop, where he now spends a great deal of his Saturdays in conversation with customers, greeting familiar faces and making new connections. This community feeling is something he’s extremely proud of, and which he hopes the local inhabitants also value. “I know most people already: I might not remember all their names – but I know them,” he laughs. “It’s not just about selling to a community, it’s a relationship. It’s a two-way thing.
“It’s not just about selling to a community, it’s a relationship. It’s a two-way thing”
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