With more restaurant operators entering Dubai’s bakery scene, the interesting question is no longer why bakeries are booming, but what each operator is trying to build
There is no denying the rise of bakeries. I should know. I have written about it enough. But one development within that growth is more compelling than another new opening: established restaurant operators are increasingly creating distinct bakery concepts within their existing businesses.
The easy explanation is that bakeries are trending. It is also the least interesting one.
For Kelvin Cheung, 852 Bakery, which found its home within Jun’s, began with a gap he saw and a personal connection to the menu. “We noticed there was a real gap in the market when it came to Asian-style baked goods, particularly Chinese ones,” he says. “For us, it felt like a natural progression. We were already making some great breads and baked products in our kitchen, so it made sense to take what we were doing and build something around the flavours and baked goods I grew up with.”
852 Bakery features Hong Kong-inspired baked goods alongside more familiar formats. “We’ve seen a strong response to the Asian flavours and products, but also to things that feel familiar, like our bagels and sandwiches, with a different point of view,” Cheung says.
There is also a straightforward commercial reason why more restaurant operators are looking at bakeries. “We are definitely seeing an uptick, with at least two other Asian bakeries opening within restaurants in the last six months,” he says. “I think it can be a smart way to extend an existing kitchen and make better use of the infrastructure you already have. It also requires less financial commitment than opening a standalone operation, which is particularly relevant when the market is uncertain.”
But the financial argument only works if the existing operation can actually accommodate the bakery. Cheung points to temperature control, oven capacity, refrigeration and freezer space, proofing and storage, finishing areas and, perhaps most importantly, whether the team can produce the additional range without disrupting the restaurant.
CRISP. demonstrates another use for an established restaurant when launching a bakery: testing the concept before committing to a standalone site.
CRISP. is Reif Othman’s first bakery concept launched in June. “CRISP. came from something genuine. I spent time in Copenhagen, became obsessed with the bakery culture there and came back wanting to reinterpret it through my own world: Japan, Singapore, Dubai, and everything I’ve eaten and experienced,” says Othman.
The bakery operates from REIF Japanese Kushiyaki in Dubai Hills, alongside the restaurant’s existing operation, but has its own identity and menu. Its offering moves between Japanese technique and Nordic influence, with products including shio pan, pandan kaya jam doughnuts, matcha crème caramel castella and vanilla brûlé millefeuille.
“We already had a strong kitchen and infrastructure, so why spend a fortune opening another box before understanding the concept properly?” he says.
Shared infrastructure, however, does not mean shared discipline. “Everything starts much earlier than the guest sees. Fermentation, resting, proofing, baking, cooling—you have to build the whole day backwards around the product,” he says.
There is another test for CRISP.: whether the product works outside the restaurant. “Delivery is the real test,” Othman says. “In the restaurant, everything is perfect when we hand it to you. On delivery, the product has to survive the box, the car, Dubai traffic and then still make you happy when you open it.”
Delivery also gives Othman another way to assess the concept. Away from the restaurant environment, there is less of an experience around the product. What remains is the bake itself, how well it travels and whether customers are willing to order it.
Othman sees several ways CRISP. could grow: another location, a different format, more products or collaborations. “I’m also very protective of the brand,” he says. “I would rather have one CRISP. that people actively seek out than ten average bakeries everywhere.”
SHUKR Bakehouse represents a different calculation again. Launched this September, the concept was co-founded by Panchali Mahendra alongside Rashed Yakhlef and a third partner and is built around a narrower proposition: one hero bake and one signature coffee. Located in the backroom of 11 Woodfire, SHUKR has a physical connection to an established restaurant business while operating as its own delivery-only concept.
At the centre of the business is the ensaymada, the Filipino bake known for its soft, pillowy texture, buttery richness and generous cheese topping. Mahendra and her partners developed their version over months of research and recipe testing with Carol Contreras, Group Head Pastry Chef at Atelier House Hospitality.
For Mahendra, who has spent more than two decades building and shaping restaurant concepts, SHUKR presented an opportunity to strip that approach back.
“Maybe because after two decades of building restaurants, I have realised that more is not always better. Restaurants teach you to think about menus, categories, dayparts, guest occasions and all the different reasons somebody might come through the door. With SHUKR, we almost challenged ourselves to forget all of that and ask a much simpler question: what if we just became really good at one thing?” she says.
“It sounds easier than opening a full restaurant, but in many ways it makes you more exposed. If you have 40 dishes, a guest may fall in love with five of them. When you have one hero product, that product has to carry the entire brand.”
That is an important distinction in a category where a smaller footprint can make a bakery look deceptively simple. A restaurant can absorb an underperforming dish across a broad menu. A bakery built around one hero product has much less room for error.
The three bakeries offer different perspectives on opening a new concept within an existing business. For Cheung, the bakery addresses a specific product gap. For Othman, it further provides a way to build and test a new concept using an existing operation. For Mahendra, the opportunity takes a different route: stripping the format back until one product carries the weight of the entire brand.
As Othman puts it: “Don’t open a bakery because bakeries are trending. There are already enough croissants in Dubai. You need a reason to exist. And secondly, don’t underestimate the operation. Having an existing kitchen helps, but bread and pastry are their own discipline. If you don’t respect that, the customer will know very quickly.”
The business of baking is shifting, specifically for restaurant operators. It is not simply about opening a standalone bakery, but about finding different ways to make the format work within an existing operation and create a new revenue stream, test a concept or serve an unmet demand.
