Third generation family business in Liverpool still going strong

National World - LocalTV

A familiar sight to anyone in Aigburth, The Bakery was established in 1958 by Len Gordon. His grandson, Alan, is now the owner.

Transcript

00:00It's a familiar sight along Egbeth Road and for good reason.

00:05The bakery has been serving the community for more than 65 years and it's still going strong.

00:13We opened in 1958 and in them days you used to put your surname over the door.

00:18So in them days it was called Gordon Stores because our surname was Gordon.

00:22My dad put some ovens in about 40 years ago and since then the name of the business has changed

00:28to the Bread Shop Bakery.

00:32First opened in the late 1950s by Len Gordon, the bakery originally began as a humble grocery store.

00:38Over time it's evolved into a fully fledged bakery making fresh goods on site every day

00:44as well as supplying fresh food and store cupboard essentials.

00:49So it was more of a convenience shop back in the time of Gordon's but it's changed more

00:54to a food to go on a bakery now.

00:55So that's how we've had to adapt over the times really.

00:59Now in its third generation, Len's grandson Alan took over the reins keeping the business

01:05in the family and in the heart of the local community.

01:09I'm the third generation of shopkeeper.

01:12My son's 12, he does work here now.

01:14He's going to be the fourth generation and a long way to continue.

01:17I mean, I love my job.

01:19I think it's amazed and I'm lucky to be able to have a job that's in a business that will

01:24continue and we are, over 1958 I have some historical pressure on me as well to be able

01:30to stay up and keep going.

01:32Although the shop has changed a lot since his grandad ran it, it can sometimes act as a time

01:38capsule with some items from the past found whilst doing maintenance.

01:42So we had like a fake wall at the back of the shop and behind the shelf when we found

01:49some boxes of cereal, we found some boxes of PG tips.

01:53Absolutely amazing.

01:54If you look at the size of the cereal boxes, nowadays they're big and the older boxes are

01:58small.

01:59There's no dates on the food in them days.

02:00So it's very hard to have a specific date on the food.

02:06I just think it's fabulous.

02:07If you look at some of the products and have a look at some of the patterns on the boxes,

02:13it really are special.

02:15So quite lucky to have found them.

02:17The bakery employees, local staff, sources from local suppliers and stocks, a variety of

02:22items.

02:22Everything from milk and bread to vegan sausage rolls and traditional Scouse pies.

02:26I think obviously you have to adapt with the times.

02:31If someone said to my grandad in 1958, someone's going to come down because they've seen a vegan

02:36sausage roll on Instagram and they've paid with an Apple watch.

02:41I mean, none of them existed in them days.

02:45You may as well be talking fairy stories, really.

02:48From fresh baked goods to a sense of community, the shop's proving that some of the best ingredients

02:54in business are tradition, local support and a dash of heart.

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