Inside Greater Manchester’s hidden bakery, home to some of the city’s best bakers, croissants and coffee

Tucked away on a quiet street in the Northern Quarter, the team behind Companio are gearing up for another busy day at their new bakery and cafe. Over the past few years, the Ancoats-born bakery has firmly established itself as one of the best bakeries in town, attracting long queues for its fresh breads, pastries and Viennoiserie.

Originally established in 2015 by Russell Goodwin following a crowdfunding campaign, its flagship site on Radium Street in Ancoats quickly became a baking hub for fresh bread, which would then be sold at Victoria Station.

In 2019, however, it was taken over by clinician Baneta Yelda and Neil Large, a construction project manager, who, after completing a baking course at The School of Artisan Food, decided to purchase the business. Under their stewardship, it became a go-to for its slow-fermented dough and crowd-pleasing, small-batch almond croissants.

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Companio’s only problem was that it was always going to outgrow its postage stamp-sized site in Ancoats. Now, five years after taking over the bakery, they have managed to expand to a second site on the corner of Spear Street and Warwick Street.

The light and airy space just off Stevenson Square, with its glass windows, open baking area and modeling table, is all about giving loyal customers – and those who have yet to try the bakery – the chance to see their bakers in action, while also building on the relationships Baneta and Neil established with them during the pandemic.

Originally from Iraq, Baneta came to the UK as a refugee 10 years ago but says the community they have built around their landmark site has kept her from feeling homesick.

“When we decided we wanted to open somewhere and the bakery went up for sale, it ticked a lot of boxes,” she reflects. “We really liked the area and the way Russell set up the bakery, and then there was the community aspect.”

However, despite drawing long lines at her Radium Street bakery in recent years, resulting in hundreds of social media posts about the specialty breads, salts and Viennoiserie, she didn’t expect to come out to as much as he did.

“We never thought it would become such a big thing. I always had a plan, however I didn’t come from a baking background and I hadn’t run a food business before, but I had a lot of support from the community. We also showed a lot of resilience during the lockdown by continuing – I think it really helped us build our community.

“Our customers have become friends, people who invite us to weddings or we know their children, and some elderly people come on fixed days so we know what special offers they like. It’s a really beautiful thing.

“We’re both not from here, but we don’t feel homesick because you don’t just come to work, you’re part of a big family.”

While both Baneta and Neil trained at the School of Artisan Food in Nottingham, they each bring their own experiences to the bakery. In Baneta’s case, her strong family heritage in baking—her grandmother was a prolific community baker in Iraq—helps her bring an individual flavor and heritage to the business.

Meanwhile, Neil had always been a keen cook and wanted to work in the food industry. Following the sudden passing of his brother Ian, Neil decided to make a career change and completed his training, gaining an Advanced Diploma in Artisan Baking with distinction in 2019.

“We don’t see ourselves as an Instagram bakery, we just love what we do,” she adds. “Baking is hard work and I would say what sets it apart is the quality of what we do here – we don’t compromise. We source our ingredients very carefully and make traditional cakes, but there’s always a little twist.

All breads are sourdough, naturally leavened with wild yeasts and made by hand using traditional methods. The slow fermentation process that Companio has adopted gives a deeper, richer taste that accentuates the flavors of flours, grains and seeds. The baguettes, ciabatta and focaccia are also baked daily and, along with the croissants, can take a few days to make sure they are sufficiently proven.

At the new site, its range of breads – including Ancoats White Sourdough, Salford-5-Sead, Pennie Rye, Mad Brod Bread and Country Sourdough – sit alongside sweet cakes such as Fruit Danish, Surprise Chocolate Chip Pudding and a specialty . chocolate hazelnut croissant.

A daily changing menu of sandwiches served on ciabatta will include egg, cheese and onion mayo, brie with chilli jam and mozzarella with pesto and tomato. Companio suppliers, including Organic North, will also be delivering fresh vegetables for customers to grab alongside their baguettes and cakes.

“We source our flour from Wild Farm, which uses grains from smaller farms in the UK and France, while Organic North allowed us to have no minimum order when we were really small, coffee from Allpress, and in the new space we will also be able to work with Chorlton Cheesemongers.

The new site has only been open for a few days, but Baneta is already excited about what’s to come. “Being able to talk to people when I’m at the bakery is great. It’s like having a studio and then moving to a bigger apartment so you have a living room and people don’t have to sit on a bed,” she adds.

“It’s great to have space for the regulars and to talk to them and they can watch the bread being made and the baking at the modeling table. The whole place is covered in glass so people can watch all this and I hope it inspires more people to become bakers or take it up as a hobby.”

The new Companio bakery and cafe is located at Unit 1, 60 Spear St, Manchester M1 1AW, UK. The other site in Ancoats will also remain open.