Abergavenny residents who have a sweet tooth will not have to go far to satisfy their cravings after a new bakery opened in town.

O’Connells Bakery opened on the morning of Thursday September 2 on 30 Frogmore Street.

The bakery is run by husband-and-wife team, Christopher and Rhian O’Connell who previously ran a small bakery in Blaenavon.

The new shop offers a range of products, all freshly baked in store, including cream cakes, pastries and donuts and also sells sandwiches and rolls as well as crisps and soft drinks.

Speaking to the Chronicle after opening their Abergavenny store, Christopher said: “We decided to move to Abergavenny as we were looking to expand the business. Blaenavon is a small town where everybody knows everyone and whilst we had built up a loyal customer base, the increased footfall in a place like Abergavenny was a great incentive for us to grow our business.”

The bakery in Blaenavon originally opened in April 2019 under the name ‘Flour Girls’ with Rhian as owner. A talented baker, after having children Rhian decided to start the business in 2018 and worked from home baking celebration cakes before opening the store on Broad Street in Blaenavon.

Husband Christopher worked as a Web Developer at the time but then decided to quit his job and join Rhian in the business, which was then rebranded to become O’Connells Bakery around three months before the move to Abergavenny.

Using the skills from his previous job, Christopher has used social media sites like Facebook to promote the new store in Abergavenny and is in the final stages of re-developing the website for the business.

Christopher said: “As a new business in town there are great benefits to using social media to let people know we are here. Our location on Frogmore Street is also beneficial as we have a school nearby so we hope to have some good passing trade from students and parents on their way home from school, and hopefully from there word of mouth will spread.”

For Christopher and Rhian – who are also moving to Abergavenny with their family – the move to a bigger premises represented a great opportunity to expand their business for the future.

Rhian said: “Our kids love baking and the opportunity to move to a bigger premises has much to do with our hopes that one day they can take the business on and enjoy the opportunities that come with making this move.

“It’s been hard work moving, we’re upsizing not just in terms of the size of the town but the size of the shop premises as well so there has been a lot to do but it is all very exciting and we can’t wait to get up and running now.”

The new shop on Frogmore Street will be open five days a week from 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday and from 10am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Posting on their Facebook page after their opening day on Thursday, Christopher and Rhian said: “It was amazing! We had sold out super early which was insane considering how much we’d baked.

“Just a quick thank you to Get Noticed for our signage and aprons, TCM Carpets & Beds for our lovely flooring and our new landlords who have done an amazing job getting the shop ready for us. We’ve also had some lovely cards and even wine from local businesses, thank you so much for welcoming us, we are so grateful for your support.”