Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Baking around the clock

Post Thumbnail

Clark’s in Dundee is a bakery with a difference – it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For anyone who’s been a student in Dundee, Clark’s Bakery is an institution. The city’s only 24-hour bakery has served up huge meat-filled rolls with names like “Scooby Snacks” and “The Helicopter” to generations of inebriated young scholars.

KCes_Clarks_Bakery_Butchery_Feature_Dundee_070617_26

It was founded in 1950 by Ernest Clark and is today run by Jonathon Clark, who joined the business in 2000. His father Alan (70) ran the business from 1971 to 2000 and now counts himself “semi-retired” having cut his working hours from 12 to seven each day.

“I remember my dad serving fried egg rolls to millworkers in the 1950s,” Alan says. “It was my first experience of fast food.”

Clarks started life as a small bakery on the ground floor of a tenement block at 92 Annfield Road. Just over two thirds of a century later its headquarters and the biggest of its four branches is just across the street on Annfield Row and the Clarks own the entire industrial estate on which it sits.

KCes_Clarks_Bakery_Butchery_Feature_Dundee_070617_08

Other outlets are in the east end of Dundee, the city centre, and Lochee. They began keeping their Annfield Row bakery open round the clock when they noticed a demand for it.

“We used to put our rolls outside to cool and people started stealing them,” Alan smiles. “I thought: if people are hungry at that time of the day let’s feed them. We started selling mince rolls from a wee doorway and then opened fully all night long.”

The bakery became famous for its gut busting meals – a Helicopter, for instance, contains a burger, lorne sausage, bacon, fried eggs and chips, all enveloped inside a large roll – but has in recent years expanded to encompass the trend for paninis, wraps and salads.

KCes_Clarks_Bakery_Butchery_Feature_Dundee_070617_19

Much of this can be attributed to Jonathon’s influence on the company.

The 37-year old’s business instincts flared up early. As a child he subcontracted his morning roll deliveries to a friend who had a paper round, paying him a bit extra to do a double delivery and making a tidy profit for staying in his bed.

“It was a win-win situation for both of us until my dad found out,” he smiles.

The 37-year old has one of those keen business minds that is ever on the lookout for an opportunity or new angle. He recently teamed up with his childhood friend David Webster – the fourth generation of Webster’s butchers in Dundee’s west end – to open a new business called The Butcher Baker.

As well as supplying several Dundee restaurants including D’Arcy Thomson, True Kitchen and the Italian Grill, it also provides meat for the bakery’s pies and sandwiches. “It’s really important that our customers know what they’re buying,” he explains. “They can go into the butchers and see the meat that goes into the food they’re buying from us.

“We’re also getting an alcohol licence so we can match wines and beers to meats.”

While baking bread and cakes is still at the company’s heart, its scope has broadened far beyond the original vision of its founder. “I love diversifying and spotting new gaps in the market,” Jonathan continues. “We’ve just installed a pizza oven and will soon be offering authentic pizzas. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas.”

Meanwhile, Alan continues to do the company’s paperwork and oversee the baking side of things. “Ever since I started a five-year apprenticeship in 1961 I’ve loved everything about baking,” he says. “I still love it. I still wake up at five o’clock every morning and look forward to coming in and firing up the oven.”