“It brings our villages back to life”: a brand new bakery opens in the north of Loiret after four years of scarcity

In 2020, the baker of this rural town of 760 inhabitants had retired, and his son had not continued the activity. “A real cold shower,” remembers the mayor, Christophe Guerton. Instead, the municipality had set up a bread depot, then a distributor, but this could only be an emergency solution. “With the municipal council, we said to ourselves that we had to bring back a business. We had a baker interested and we looked for an existing premises, but without success. Finally we found land, and we decided to build a new store,” summarizes the elected official.

Looking for a salaried baker

The project, which cost more than 950,000 euros, took time. We had to put together files and find grants. The region, the State and the department pitched in and financed three quarters of the amount.

Started a year ago, the work was completed in November. The shop is rented to the baker, Anthony Beuchet, who paid for the equipment. Already the owner of two other businesses in Essonne, he was involved in the design of this 250 m2 boutique which also includes a catering area. For the moment, he employs two saleswomen and an apprentice, and he makes the bread. But he hopes to quickly hire another baker to replace him, even if, for the moment, he has not yet had a candidate…