Honesty box bakery opens beside National Trust property Woolthorpe Manor in Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth

A passionate baker has opened an honesty box business, hoping to bring trust back into the heart of the community.

Katie Lay opened The Quaint Crumb on Saturday (April 26), a small quirky wooden box bakery beside Woolsthorpe Manor in Newton Way, Woolsthorpe by Colsterworth.

Katie’s baking venture started as she was feeling stressed with her civil service job and started baking as a way of relaxing and giving her freshly baked products to friends and neighbours.

As people started saying they would buy her baked goods, Katie’s partner and neighbour told her she should give it a go - and the idea of an honesty box was born.

She said: “It is so overwhelming to see people’s support. I thought it was going to be a flop but we sold out on the first day and it was really busy.

“I am quite excited to keep going.”

The honesty box is open Thursday to Saturday from 9am until around 6pm or until sell out, and it is closed the rest of the week as Katie is preparing all the products while continuing her full-time job.

There is a range of different products available at the bakery, from sweet to savoury, including sourdough, cookies, blondies and flapjacks. She is also looking for customers’ reviews and opinions on what sort of baked goods they would like to try.

There is a price list on the tiny bakery, and people can either pay cash or scan the QR code to make a PayPal payment.

Despite not having any employees or security, the bakery works on the basis of trust and honesty.

Katie added: “This is a risk that I am willing to take. I want to bring trust back into the community and make it a little community hive.

“On Sunday morning, there were people walking their dogs who were then running down to the corner to grab some bread.

“It is also a nice way to meet people in the village and bring the community spirit back.”

Over the weekend, The Quaint Crumb had a variety of people visiting from youngsters aged five to pensioners.

In the future, if the honesty box business success, Katie might be looking at going part-time in her current job and even opening a small bakery.