Popular Danish bakery Kringle recently opened their second Sheffield site across from Hillsborough Park and have seen locals queuing out of the door to get their hands on their authentic Danish bakes, cakes, speciality breads and sandwiches (I should know, I’ve been one of them!).
The bakery is owned by the Hayes family, who relocated from Scotland in September 2022 to open their first shop in the downstairs unit of a building on Ringinglow Road.
The bakery and cafe operation is very much a family affair for the Hayes clan, with Dorthe, who originally hails from Denmark, in charge of the baking and running of the bakery alongside her husband Christopher – a Sheffielder by birth who grew up in the Fox House pub. Their two sons have also played a big part in the businesses success, with Jack working the counter in Bents Green and Thomas (below) heading up the new Hillsborough spot with his partner, Lexie Rogers (below).
Lexie Rogers and Thomas Hayes who head up Kringle’s Hillsborough site
Dorthe learned how to bake at baking school back home in Denmark, when she 15, and went on to run a bakery in Tenerife in the 90s, which is where the couple met. We’re told by son Thomas that Despite Christopher’s preference for savoury snacks, he kept going back for the chocolate croissants, mainly so he could keep seeing Dorthe!
The rest, as they say, is history and since then, the family have lived fairly nomadically, moving around between Denmark, Spain and Scotland, before settling in Sheffield when they hit upon the idea to set up a bakery here.
Following the huge success of this first bakery and cafe in Bents Green, the family felt it was the right time to open a second site and Hillsborough seemed the perfect spot.
Thomas said: “We wanted somewhere where there was a park, preferably where there was a school, and the football ground was the cherry on top for us. There’s even the tram stop just over the road, so there’s loads of eyes on us.
“Since opening, it’s been madness. We’ve had such good feedback. Everyone loves my mum’s pastries – she’s very talented and it’s been great so far.”
Thomas and Lexie’s big-hearted, friendly vibe is also what makes the place so welcoming, and the pair have embraced the local community. “We’ve been really well received,” says Thomas, “and everyone is so lovely around this area. I’m so happy we decided to open here.”
Lexie added: “Thomas is such a lovely, nice person, that it’s just infectious.
“I grew up in a proper working class area, and I feel like the community here is so reminiscent of it. My favourite part of being here is talking to the locals, it’s like talking to people I grew up with – I love it!”
With all the bakes delivered daily from their Bents Green site, the new cafe stocks a wide, and reasonable priced selection of bakes and pastries, with everything from croissants and Danish pastries in a selection of different flavours, to brioche based cakes, pretzels and artisanal breads, and we’re told people travel hours across the city to get their rye bread fix.
Many of the pastries are vegan, and they also offer coffee, which is sourced by Thomas’ uncle and roasted locally. While the café is mainly takeaway, the space offers a couple of tables and a window seat to watch the world go by as you chow down on your Danish.
As everything they sell has been made fresh that day, anything they they don’t sell goes to S2 Foodbank and Food Works, in Handsworth, and Lexie tells us that food waste, and being eco-friendly is important to them all, especially Dorthe, who has been pleasantly surprised by the popularity of the bakery.
Thomas said: “She didn’t expect it, but she’s very happy that it’s gone like this because when we lived in Scotland, me and my brother Jack didn’t really have much going for us. Now, we’re both working somewhere that we actually love and that we can see ourselves in for many years in the future. It’s changed all our lives.”
The bakery is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8am – 3pm, and on Wednesday all their swirls are just £1.50.
Lexie said: “So many people come in and talk about how they value how affordable it is. Especially on Wednesdays. There’s such a demand for stuff that’s actually worth the money, and that’s important to us. The people of Hillsborough deserve nice things.
“We’re so thankful to the community. The reception down here has been so fantastic that I think could actually cry when people are being so nice to us.”
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