Nick Tudor's elongated counter for Toad Bakery aims to ease queue paralysis

Carpenter Nick Tudor designed an elongated, curved stainless steel counter and a bespoke chestnut shelving structure for the second branch of Toad Bakery in Deptford, southeast London. The bakery, founded by Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello, opened its first site in Camberwell in 2022. The new interior responds to the bakery's notorious hour-long queues by providing a window-shopping experience along the counter, allowing customers to view pastries before ordering, thus avoiding "the bottleneck of choice paralysis." Tudor's custom shelving, made from sweet chestnut felled near his Essex workshop, features five slanted racks echoing the catering speed racks used at the Camberwell branch. The stainless steel counter was fabricated by local metalworker James Williamson. Tudor left production marks like pencil and chalk lines on the furniture to celebrate the baking process. His inspiration came from a 15th-century illuminated manuscript depicting the construction of Noah's Ark. The open-plan kitchen displays industrial mixers to connect customers with the bakery's activities. Photography is by Jody Evans.