Pacey's Bakery in Spalding is going strong five years after it was saved from closure - and the 100-year-old oven is still in use
Up until five years ago, George and Sharon Tear will admit that the thought of running a bakery was not something they had ever considered.
Sharon was running her own hair and beauty salon, and George was working in logistics, for Fowler Welch.
Yet the couple were so moved when they heard that much-loved bakery Pacey’s, in Spalding’s Red Lion Street, was closing that they took the plunge and decided to take it on themselves.
And their efforts have paid off as next month, on February 27, they will mark five years at the helm, and have seen the bakery continue to grow since taking it over.
Sharon said: “Mr Pacey had put in for retirement and nobody thought he would, but then he did and it closed in the August. George said it is a shame and that it would be nice to take it on.
“We had no experience whatsoever. I’d had a short illness and at that time it was out of the question. Then, when I got better George said it’s still up for sale.”
The refurbishment work at Pacey's in progress five years ago. Photos from a book inside the coffee shop at the business.
Not entirely sure at that time how they would afford it, the Spalding couple decided they could not see the bakery shut its doors for good.
Pacey’s baker, Ian Waters, who had worked at the bakery since he was 16, had left when the bakery closed. George (now 42) and Sharon (48), asked Ian if he would be prepared to come back to work for them if they took it on.
He agreed, and that was the deciding factor with the wheels set in motion to re-open the bakery. The couple both said they could not have done it without their amazing staff.
The bakery’s coal-fired oven, which is still used to create its loaves and rolls, is over 100-years-old and still works perfectly today.
The coffee shop is headed up by manageress Lynda Ricketts and bakery manager is Lennie Gilling.
George still works today for Fowler Welch in transport support and Sharon runs her salon Strands in Clover Way in Spalding whilst they oversee the bakery. And there were many late nights while they were preparing the bakery to re-open.
“You have an idea of how much things are going to cost,” George explained, but he estimates they spent around £100,000 refurbishing the bakery and getting the coffee shop inside ready. That included taking out mortgages for the bakery and the adjoining four-bedroom property next door which they now rent out.
“The ceiling needed restoring,” Sharon explained, “we had some damp, and during the work we uncovered the brick wall behind the plaster in the coffee shop. This is now a feature wall. We decorated and painted inside ourselves and there were days we were here from 4am until midnight getting everything ready.”
On opening day, the couple were behind the tills themselves as they met customers.
Richard Pacey and his wife Eileen, who previously ran the bakery, agreed that George and Sharon could keep the original name of the business and it is an ongoing legacy to them.
“They still come in and have a cup of tea now and again,” Sharon added.
And while they have kept the original Pacey’s recipes (their bread rolls are supplied to Sheddy’s fish and chip shop next door), they have expanded the menu.
Today, they offer a huge array of baked goods, including cheesecakes, and their takeaway drinks menu has grown to include cappuccinos, lattes and mochas...you name it.
The coffee shop is open from 7.30am on Tuesdays to Fridays and from 7am on Saturdays. Behind the scenes, the artisan bakery is in operation 24 hours a day with traditional methods of baking behind used. It takes three hours to make a bread roll.
Their buffet service has also expanded to offer a catering service for all occasions which can be delivered in Pacey’s electric-powered van.
And as the bakery continues to thrive, George says: “It’s a way of life for us now.”
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