Bengaluru’s Glens Bakehouse has arrived in Chennai with red velvet cupcakes, pizzas and pot pies

Newly opened Glens Bake House in Anna Nagar, Chennai.

On its opening day, Glen’s Bakehouse in Annanagar has a small but steady pool of people crowding the counter, waiting to place orders of chocolate pastries, chicken croissants and an overabundance of blueberry cheesecake.

This popular brand from Bengaluru was registered in 2011 but was started in the 1980s by founder Glenn Williams who also started patisserie brand Sweet Charit and is one of the partners of Tweet Brew Pub. Now, they have set up shop in a white bungalow along Chennai’s tree-lined Anna Nagar neighborhood – the signature style of their venue. Although the cafe has just opened, the outdoor seating area is already busy with several groups of friends over coffee while the rest are on laptops, possibly looking for cake-fueled inspiration to get to work.

“Mondays are a bit dull in Bengaluru. I guess it takes a while for people to get out of the weekend spirit. Chennai seems different. Even though today is a Monday, it felt like a weekend. The response is love,” says Vincent Machado, Glenn’s friend and business consultant, who is overseeing the opening.

A new beginning

After the cafe opened this morning, it hosted customers who came in to get their hands on a free mini-cupcake each, in addition to about 15 influencers, including Sruthi R. Iyer, who handles promotions for the brand. is from the marketing firm, Hotkhana. . Which probably explains their glass cases with chocolate and red velvet button cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes at Glenn’s Bakehouse, Chennai.

Vincent says the decision to bring Glenn’s Bakehouse to Chennai has been in the works for some time now.

“In the past there were calls to bring the brand outside Karnataka to places like Telangana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu but we didn’t want to implement it until we were well established in Bangalore. Now that our With 12 outlets, we decided to adopt the master franchising model and open our first store outside Karnataka with a franchisee who has worked with us in the past in Bengaluru. Other states are also on the cards,” he says. are

Caramel Donuts at Glenn’s Bakehouse, Chennai

Rajneesh Kumar, head of operations and partner, Glens Bakehouse, says he opened his first outlet in Annanagar because there was a vibrant ‘foodie’ culture here. “However, as part of our master franchising model there has always been a plan to open in places like Nangambakkam and Basantnagar across Chennai in the near future,” he adds.

Apart from the hot kitchen, the restaurant has five departments working to make fresh cakes, puffs, pizzas and counters. It currently seats 100 people with an indoor air-conditioned area and a pleasant outdoor counterpart.