Owners behind a much-loved bagel shop in Leeds say business has “snowballed” due to the support of customers.

Slow Rise Bakery opened in Horsforth in March 2020 by bagel-enthusiast Nick Simpson and his partner Nerys Hudson.

While the keys to the property were secured the year before, Slow Rise has been nearly a decade in the making.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Nerys said: “Nick learnt to make bagels when we lived out in Berlin in our 20s, and when we decided to move back to England, I think that was something that he realised he really enjoyed doing.

“The lady who taught him very kindly gave him the recipe for him to adapt, which he did. And it all really snowballed from there.

“Nick used to deliver bagels to offices when he first started, then he started doing farmers markets and then realised that there was a big demand for bagels when they were freshly baked. Getting a space of our own was the next logical step.”

Slow Rise Bakery currently offers freshly-baked bagels, cakes and other baked treats made with quality ingredients and an emphasis on sustainability.

The business prides itself on its consistency and it aims to be able to a place people come back to for more.

Nerys said: “We were really inspired by those places in Europe where it's really small, it's been going forever and the same people go there. I think those places always feel really special to me.

“We’re so invested in Slow Rise, not just financially but emotionally as well. And I think growing the business - going from it just being Nick and his apprentice to the 20 of us - is something to feel like just so immensely proud of.

“It's your hard work and hard work of other people that has got the business to this stage. I really feel that the ownership side of it is incredible.”

She added: “As an indie business, there's so many opportunities for creativity, whether it's collaborating or who you choose to support. It is incredibly important for us.

“For example, we don't have the space to make our own pastries like croissants but we've been able to work with other local bakeries which allows us to be like specialists in what we do, but it also allows us to be bit of a forum and platform for other businesses as well. And I love that - the collaboration, that sort of community that comes with being an indie business.

“Otherwise, it would just be incredibly lonely and faceless.”

There have been many wonderful moments in the last four years but seeing customers inside the new venue after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted was an incredible feeling, Nerys said.

“We just had so many people come in and there were families, young people, older people, there were people catching up with friends, people just reading on their own, and seeing that range of customers, and knowing that there was something about our place that resonated with them all, that made them want to come and sit in was such a highlight.

“Getting through our first Christmas was a big highlight, too. The production ramps up, we had no idea what we were doing but just to be able to hand over these baked goods to people knowing that we were part of their Christmas that felt really special as well.”

Nerys added: “People keep saying we should open up another place. I'm sure in a couple of years time, urge to do that may grow. But right now, we're having such a great time doing what we love to do, and having people respond to it so positively, it's all you could really ask for.”

Slow Rise Bakery, in 2a Sunnybank Ave, is open Tuesday-Friday, 9am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday, 9:30am-3pm.