Dunn’s bakery is returning to Muswell Hill for the first time since World War Two.

%image(15169346, type="article-full", alt="Works are underway and the bakery hopes to open on November 17. Picture: Lewis Freeman")

The Crouch End business said it was “hyped” to be moving into Muswell Hill Broadway where the new shop will sit between Toff’s fish and chip shop and Sally Bourne Interiors. The bakery is expected to open on November 17.

Dunn’s boss Lewis Freeman told the Ham&High: “We’re absolutely hyped about it.

“Lots of people in Muswell Hill have heard of us and stopped in our store in Crouch End, so we’re really, really excited to branch out and return to Muswell Hill. “

The family-run business, spanning six generations of bakers, began in 1820 in Highgate. It had a store in Muswell Hill until the Second World War before opening in Crouch End in 1946.

%image(15169348, type="article-full", alt="The new store will be run "exactly the same" as in Crouch End. Picture: Lewis Freeman")

Lewis said the Muswell Hill bakery would run “very much the same” as the popular Crouch End branch, including its freshly made sandwiches, sausage rolls and trademark cakes.

“Customers have been peering through the door asking us what it’s going to be,” Lewis said.

“When I say Dunn’s they say ‘oh lovely, great’. I’ve been blown away by the support, it’s been nothing but positive which has been fantastic.”

“We’re going to be surrounded by great shops on a great high street.”

The Ham&High’s Shop Local campaign is encouraging readers to support independent traders such as Dunn’s ahead of Christmas.

The bakery’s move to Muswell Hill has been on Lewis’ mind “for a long time” but not officially in the works until January, with opening plans first slated for August.

On launching a new business during the pandemic, the Dunn’s boss said: “If we hit some sort of recession, which obviously we hope we don’t, we’ll be much better placed to weather the storm with two shops rather than one.

“And although it’s been a very choppy few months for us, we like to think we’re quite a consistent bet and that we’ll ride out the rest of this Covid-19 lockdown fairly okay.”

Dunn’s will give surplus produce to food banks and soup kitchens in Muswell Hill, Highgate, Bounds Green and Finchley.

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Catherine West said: “I am thrilled that another part of my constituency will now have Dunn’s, with their fantastic offerings, on their doorstep.

“Dunn’s has been a key part of the Crouch End high street for generations and I know they will become a key part of Muswell Hill.”

Haringey mayor Cllr Adam Jogee said: “I am delighted to hear that Dunn’s is opening a new shop in Muswell Hill.

“They have brought much joy and many baked delights to the residents of Crouch End and Hornsey for many years and it seems only fair that their baked goods follow the W7 up the hill.

“Many congratulations to my old friend Lewis Freeman and his hard-working team.”

Christopher Georgiou, who runs Toff’s, said: “All of us at Toff’s are very excited to welcome back Dunn’s bakery to the Muswell Hill community.

“It’s great to have another independent here to continue the ethos of Muswell Hill and what makes this area so special.”

The Ham&High’s Shop Local campaign is designed to highlight the hidden – and not so hidden – gems on our high streets. If you run a shop in our area we should be shouting about, contact the newsdesk at editoral@hamhigh.co.uk

READ MORE: Shop Local: MPs across Camden, Haringey, Barnet and Westminster back Ham&High campaign

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