Beechworth Bakery
The original Beechworth Bakery is a 100% Australian owned family retail business located in one of Victoria’s best preserved historic tourist towns. it is the proud recipient of multiple Victorian Tourism Awards for significant local/regional attraction, and has been the initial catalyst in helping Beechworth and North East Victoria become a major tourist destination.
In 1857 the Beechworth Bakery’s original building was erected as single storey commercial premises, with a second storey and balcony added around 1900. Old legal documents reveal the premises have been home to a shoe shop, dining room and pastry shop.
In 1974 Tom 0’Toole purchased the property then known as the Ideal Cafe & Milk Bar. Three years later, he sold the business and moved to Augusta in Western Australia, where he made his mark as a leading country baker.
In 1984 Tom returned and purchased the struggling bakery in Beechworth again, this time including the drapers next door. He extended the production and baking areas at the rear and doubled the floor space and entrances for customers by opening up into the former drapery premises. He also created an outdoor area on the sidewalk to extend seating.
Today the Beechworth Bakery boasts six bakeries across Victoria and southern NSW (Albury, Beechworth, Bendigo, Ballarat, Echuca & Healesville), and is one of Australia’s greatest retail success stories. It has an annual turnover in excess of $12 million, serving well over 900,000 customers per year. It is also one of the highest earning single bakery retailers in Australian history.
The secret to the success of the Beechworth Bakery lies with its people. Tom and his Managing Director, Marty Matassoni, are extremely proud of their staff and encourage initiative and participation. “We hire for attitude and train for skills,” Tom O’Toole says. “We look for enthusiasm – that highly contagious spark – and believe in the power of the people, in all of our bakeries, to deliver that excellence that makes us stand
