Eats

Greater Manchester’s oldest family-run bakery put up for sale after 159 years

It's widely considered the best place to get a Manchester tart and has been for decades.

Georgina Pellant - 24th July 2023

For 159 years, Robinson’s Bakery in Failsworth – known as the home of the Manchester tart – has been run by the same family.

First established in 1864 the business has survived two World Wars, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a quarter million pound energy bill at the start of the cost of living crisis.

It’s a properly Mancunian, family-run business and has been for over a century, but now its owners are ready to retire, and so they’ve put the business up for sale, marking the end of an era.

For decades, Robinson’s has widely been considered the best place to get a Manchester tart – comprised of a shortcrust pastry shell spread with raspberry jam and custard filling, topped with flakes of coconut and a Maraschino cherry.

Ever since the traditional pudding’s inception, Mancunians in the know have flocked to Robinson’s for the goodies. Now, though, that all looks like it could change, despite the business being “busier than ever.”

In recent years, the business has been run mostly by David Robinson and his daughter, Grace, but over the weekend the family took to social media to tell their followers the ‘time had come’ to put the bakery up for sale.

Explaining that it ‘is the right decision for us as a family’, Emma wrote that “Mum and Dad are ready to retire”, before adding, “and the chance of a lifetime has come my way.”

Reassuring fans of their bakery that they “will be here, doing exactly what we do best, for as long as it takes to find the right new people to guide our fabulous team into the future”, the post made it clear that they won’t be rushing out of the door before finding suitable owners to take over the treasured bakery.

Read more: A new Thai street food restaurant with tuk-tuk seating is opening in Manchester

The family also emphasised the importance that the bakery’s new owner wanted to be a part of their ‘amazing community’ in Failsworth.

The full post read: “Well the time has come for us put our bakery up for sale.

“As crazy as this is, as we are busier than ever, it is the right decision for us as a family.
Mum and Dad are ready to retire and the chance of a lifetime has come my way.

Read more: This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it basement restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown serves the ultimate yum cha feast

“Don’t worry, we will be here, doing exactly what we do best, for as long as it takes to find the right new people to guide our fabulous team in to the future and be part of our amazing community here in Failsworth.

“If this is you, or you know someone it would be perfect for please get in touch!

“Grace, Emma, Sue and David x”

Featured image – Robinson’s Bakery