Viral bakery Get Baked will be closing the doors of its Headingley bakery at the end of next month.
It’s safe to say that Get Baked is a proper Leeds success story, opening five years ago and fast becoming one of the most viral bakeries in the UK.
Customers had their fingers on the pulse to grab a slice of that oh so mighty chocolate cake week in, week out, and us locals felt very lucky to have a Get Baked on our doorstep.
But unfortunately, this won’t be the case anymore as today the bakery has announced they’ll be closing their Headingley site for good.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Owner Rich took to Instagram to announce the sad news, he said: “These are words I never envisaged myself writing, but I must share with you all the news that at the end of February, our Headingley store will be closing.
“When we opened the site 5 years ago, it was a requirement of the landlord that the lease was personally guaranteed — at the time I had little to lose, and didn’t think twice.
“Now our lease is up for renewal, with the same requirement for me to personally guarantee it — the difference being that I have a lot more to lose, and with a significant rise in rent and rates, paired with the obvious strains on hospitality that everyone’s more than aware of — I can no longer personally guarantee the lease.
"The new lease would mean that the price we lay out in Headingley would exceed the amount we pay for our site in Manchester City centre, which for the style of business that we are, is just madness.
"Being busy is no longer enough to make most hospitality sites work, you have to squeeze so hard to the point where there’s no real fun left — record sales weeks become less of a joy, and more of a necessity.
"For complete transparency, the business has grown to a point where we have to take £500,000 a month to break even — it’s very scary, but it’s all a result of the rapid growth that we’ve undergone over the last few years.
"We are extremely lucky to have a very strong online business. We serve thousands of customers every week delivering desserts all over the country — online is very much the future of GB.
"I have an enormous amount of gratitude for the teams that we’ve had in Headingley over the last five years — we’ve employed some incredible people that played a pivotal role in the businesses success.
"Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are — I’m extremely grateful. I must also thank our customers — when we relaunched the business from nothing in 2021, we were welcomed with open arms.
"OG customers from the previous iteration of GB came back like it had never left, it was truly remarkable. I’m conscious that Headingley serves some of our most loyal and regular customers, and I am so grateful to you all for your support over the years. We will close the doors on Saturday the 28th of February."
If you’re still looking to get your Get Baked fix, you can either order online or take a trip across the Pennines to visit their bakery in Manchester City Centre.
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.
Viral brunch cafe Acai and the Tribe is coming to Leeds city centre this spring
Clementine Hall
Leeds health nuts assemble, because acai bowls and superfood smoothies are coming to a city near you.
Incase you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you may not be clued up on the whole acai bowl trend that has been sweeping up the nation.
Acai is a super berry grown and harvested in the Amazon rainforest, and not only is it absolutely delicious but it has a myriad of health benefits.
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Images: The Manc Group
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
Announcing the very exciting news to Instagram, Acai and the Tribe said: "You asked, we listened. LEEDS… your new lifestyle arrives soon."
They will be opening on 88 Vicar Lane as part of the Vicar Lane regeneration scheme, which has already scene some great new restaurants being announced such as Sticks'n'Sushi and Dishoom.
It seems like this part of town is suddenly going to be the place to be, and we're very happy to see it.
We'll keep you updated with opening dates as and when we know more but for now, you can find out more about Acai and the Tribe here.