Halswell Bakery — 'Your Local Bakery' — has been part of the Halswell community since 2014, when the experienced Buckley family opened the shop. Everything here is 'hand-crafted with love, right here in the store': handmade pies, filled rolls, slices, cakes and other treats, with barista-made coffee made to go alongside. The cabinet runs from savouries to cream buns, scones, muffins and sweet buns.
The bakery is a genuine family affair. Pete and Ruth Buckley and their three adult children — Danielle, Jared and Jack — all helped develop the business, bringing a family style and feel to the shop; Ruth jokes that the kids grew up helping in the bakery but these days their involvement 'mainly runs to taste testing'. Today Ruth runs the bakery with her management team, Bronwyn and Jordan, and the wider crew is known for friendly, often entertaining service. The team sources ingredients locally where possible and is constantly working to minimise its environmental impact.
Recently relocated to much bigger premises — the old Westpac site in the New World Shopping Complex at 346 Halswell Road — Halswell Bakery offers more than the counter: custom made cakes for any occasion, plus catering for morning teas, lunches, picnics, BBQs and other events, with packages tailored to suit. The bakery opens 7 days a week, public holidays included, and takes online orders paid securely via Stripe.
Tucked into the New World Shopping Complex on Halswell Road in Christchurch, Halswell Bakery describes itself simply as 'Your Local Bakery' — and the label fits. Since 2014 the Buckley family has been baking handcrafted pies, filled rolls, slices, cakes and other treats in store, seven days a week, public holidays included. Add barista-made coffee and a reputation for friendly, often entertaining service, and you have a genuine neighbourhood fixture.
The bakery's promise is posted everywhere: everything is 'handcrafted with love, right here in the store'. It shows in the cabinet — handmade pies and savouries up front, filled rolls and sandwiches for lunch, bread to take home, and a sweet side of cream buns, scones, muffins, slices, sweet buns and packet biscuits. Ingredients are sourced locally where possible, and the team is open about constantly striving to minimise the bakery's environmental footprint.
Halswell Bakery opened in 2014, the work of experienced bakery and business owners Pete and Ruth Buckley and their three adult children, Danielle, Jared and Jack. The whole family was involved in developing the business, which is a big part of where the shop's family style and feel comes from — though Ruth is quick to joke that while the kids grew up helping in the bakery, these days their involvement 'mainly runs to taste testing'.
These days Ruth runs the bakery with her management team, Bronwyn and Jordan, supported by the rest of the crew. Together they have built the shop into a place the local community — and visitors from well beyond it — treat as a reliable stop for good food and good coffee.
Start with the pies: they are the handmade headline of the cabinet and the trays of them are a familiar sight at the bakery. Savouries make close companions. For lunch, filled rolls and sandwich packets make an easy grab-and-go, and there is bread for the pantry at home. On the sweet side, look for cream buns, scones and muffins, slices and sweet buns — with packet biscuits if you are stocking up. And whatever you choose, there is barista-made coffee to go with it; the shop works just as well as a coffee stop as a bakery.
Halswell Bakery recently relocated to much bigger premises — the old Westpac site — within the New World Shopping Complex at 346 Halswell Road. The move gave the team more room to bake and to grow the custom cake and catering side of the business, but the formula has not changed: products made by hand in store, served by people who know their regulars.
Beyond the counter, Halswell Bakery runs a full catering operation for morning teas, lunches, picnics, BBQs and other events. The online catering menu is organised into ten categories — bread, catering creams, catering sandwiches and rolls (ribbon sandwiches among them), catering savouries, catering scones and muffins, catering slices, filled rolls and sandwich packets, packet biscuits, pies, and sweet buns and slices. Most orders need a minimum of two days' notice, placed through the website with a confirmation email to follow; if your event needs something specific, the team will tailor a package to suit.
Celebrations are covered too. The bakery makes custom made cakes for any occasion — talk to the team in store, by phone or through the contact page to plan yours.
Halswell Bakery opens seven days a week, public holidays included: 6.00am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 7.00am to 5.00pm on Sundays. In a hurry, use the 'text to go' line — text 021 087 18890 with your coffee and food order — or call the shop on 03 322 4600. Online orders through the website are paid securely via Stripe, and the bakery shares news and fresh-baked photos on Facebook and Instagram.
Whether it is a pie and a coffee on the way to work, a spread for the office morning tea or a custom cake for a milestone birthday, the brief is the same: real food, handcrafted in store, served with a smile that is often entertaining. For Halswell, that is exactly what a local bakery should be.