Cafe Nort: Family to open second Finnish bakery with cafe in Sheffield neighbourhood, Crookes

There’s only one way for this popular family-run Finnish bakery in Woodseats to celebrate its success - and that is to open a second location in Crookes.

Cafe Nort is run by partners Janita Maaranen and Enrique Rodriguez after initially setting up their business as a part-time hustle from their home in 2014. But after a surge in demand during the pandemic, the pair finally moved the baking out of the family kitchen and into a shop in Chesterfield Road in April of this year.

Now the pair have announced they have found a second two-storey venue minutes away from their home to turn into another bakery and cafe on 210 Crookes, formerly Small Stuff which closed in February.

Janita, who moved to the UK from Finland in 2001, said: “We’ve had a very very good response. It is very exciting and we are very excited to be in Crookes and already feeling the love. 

“In Finland, Finnish bakery cafes are quite different, probably from what we have seen here, so we are hoping to bring a bit of difference. Crookes has some cafes, but we don't want to be the same as what everybody else is doing - it’s important that we're bringing something different otherwise there's no point in being there.”

Together with the help of their teenage children Rania, 17, and Oliver, 15, Cafe Nort offers a menu of sweet and savoury baked goods which is sold in their Woodseats store and delivered across the UK via courier. Around 95 per cent of their goods is made with flour imported from Finland, and there is also gluten-free and vegan options.

The menu includes sourdough rye loads, cinnamon rolls, apple buns, ring doughnuts, Danish pastries, croissants, smoked salmon pastries, Finnish meat and rice pie, and much more.

Upstairs the new venue will see seating for a cafe, with additional seating in the bakery shop downstairs. New items will be added to the menu, such as soup with freshly baked bread to allow customers to sit in for lunch. 

If everything goes to plan, the cafe and bakery will open its doors to Crookes in September - and bring a couple of new jobs to the area. 

“We’re looking for people to grow with us,” Janita said. “It’s a big change for us, and it’s really important for us to find the perfect team between Crookes and in Woodseats.

“At some point we want to have holidays, but as well, if we have people helping us with the daily running of the shop and the business, then of course that gives them opportunities to bring in new ideas and more choice and better things for everyone.”

To keep up to date with Cafe Nort, find them on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/NordicBakes