What do you recall about Kristy’s Bakery?
Article by Susan Davies
Kristy’s Bakery has been a vibrant part of Eversley Road since the 1940’s helping to make this small road a shopping destination in its own right. It has sustained and delighted multiple generations with sweet and savoury treats. The small paned windows invite a closer look inside and its interiors are intimate and cosy. Customers are promised a cheery service with a chat. Now the premises are on the market, as the owner and baker Antonio Carra considers retirement from many years’ service.
However, the beginning of the story was earlier still in 1933. It is a story worth telling as living history. In 1933 sisters, Marjorie and Kathleen Taylor opened a bakery and café in St Helens Road. The outbreak of war soon after, took its toll on Swansea and the café itself and so they moved premises again, not once but twice first to Alexander Road then in the 1940’s to Eversley Road. The next owner had a start through the ranks from the bottom as Alan Jenkins commenced as a 15 year old apprentice in 1955 before persevering in his craft to become the next owner in 1975. Certain items in the shop have become tradition, such as the Swansea meat pies, a small deep pie with shortcrust pastry, a meaty mince filling with dark rich gravy. There are shaped animal biscuits coated with chocolate with the original biscuit cutters as well as homemade truffles and chocolates in original glass cabinets.
Antonio Carra joins the time line in 1997 and since then he and his partner Teresa have developed a more continental flavour to the baking which was novel, certainly at the time. There have been focaccia, olive breads, take away lasagne and Antonio developed a theme of rich chocolate wedding cakes and a more modern wedding cake that was not iced but beautifully decorated. Mr Carra deserves his break from early morning starts, but wouldn’t it be lovely if the business could continue in some form? I am sure everyone wishes Antonio and Teresa a happy retirement when that arrives. Before then go and try a truffle or a nut cluster!
By the way the origin of the name Kristy’s in 1933 was not modelled on a real person , it was purely a name that was chosen by the original owner as a pleasing name.
