Volare Greenhill is the Chartwell home of Volare, the award-winning artisan bakery that began in a Hamilton garage in 2009 and has grown into one of New Zealand's much-loved bakehouses. One of five Volare stores around the Waikato, the Gordonton Road shop puts the bakery's daily bakes — sourdough, pastries, bagels and more — within easy reach of Greenhill Park locals.
Bread is the heart of it. Head baker Ryan, a fourth-generation baker, takes a traditional approach: quality ingredients, skilled craftsmanship and small batches baked daily, with no need for the additives and preservatives found in mass-produced loaves. The signature Pain au Levain — handcrafted with spray-free New Zealand flour — has picked up awards and is the loaf of choice for many hospitality kitchens, while Winter Warmers like Olive & Thyme, Cumin, Onion & Turmeric and San Francisco sourdough give regulars something new to try. Around the sourdough sit bagels, sourdough English muffins, burger buns, pre-sliced loaves, banana bread and a gluten-free range.
The range goes beyond bread, too: pastries and mini pastries, cookies, scones and slices, plus value boxes, pantry staples, merchandise and catering for gatherings big and small. Can't make it in? Volare bakes daily and delivers same-day across Auckland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, with free delivery on orders over $60, and you'll also find the bread at the Cambridge and Hamilton farmers markets and in good food stores throughout the North Island.
True to its roots — two school friends, a vintage oven, a tired mixer and a beat-up old van — Volare still values the people and community around it, supporting local initiatives and fundraising efforts across the Waikato. Whether you're ducking in for a loaf or planning a spread, expect honest, handcrafted baking made the slow way.
Step into Volare Greenhill and you're stepping into the shopfront of one of New Zealand's much-loved artisan bakeries — a business that began less than two decades ago in a Hamilton garage and now feeds much of the upper North Island. The Greenhill Park store is one of five Volare bakeries around the Waikato, and it carries everything the name has become known for: slow-made sourdough, pastries, bagels, banana bread and a cabinet of sweet things, all baked fresh daily.
Volare (pronounced vo-la-ree) was created in 2009 by two school friends, Ed and Ryan, with a dream of building a traditional bakery making the highest quality baked goods. The kit list was humble — a vintage oven, a tired mixer and a beat-up old van — but the idea stuck. Today Volare is an award-winning artisan bakery distributing to cafés, restaurants and good food stores throughout the North Island, operating five stores across the Waikato and delivering same-day across Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
Despite a name that translates as 'to fly' or 'to go quickly', the approach in the bakery is deliberately slow. Ryan, the head baker, is a fourth-generation baker, and traditional technique is the point: quality ingredients, skilled craftsmanship and small batches that keep freshness and flavour high, with no need for the additives and preservatives typical of mass-produced bread. As the team puts it, their products are best enjoyed slowly and with intention.
If one loaf sums Volare up, it's the Pain au Levain. Award-winning and handcrafted with spray-free New Zealand flour, it's a favourite among customers and the loaf of choice for much of the hospitality industry — the bread you've likely already tasted at a good café without realising it.
The Winter Warmers range is the other quiet obsession: the Olive & Thyme Sourdough, the golden Cumin, Onion & Turmeric Sourdough and the classic San Francisco Sourdough — loaves the bakery recommends as the perfect addition to any winter meal. Around them sits a full bread range: bagels, sourdough English muffins, burger buns, pre-sliced sandwich loaves, banana bread and a dedicated gluten-free collection, so there's something for the toaster, the lunchbox and the dinner table alike.
The range runs well past bread. Pastries and mini pastries, cookies, scones and slices fill the sweet side of the cabinet, while value boxes make gifting or feeding a crowd straightforward. There's catering for events and workplaces, pantry staples to go with the loaf, Volare merchandise, and a Bread Box gift card for the hard-to-buy-for bread lover in your life.
Visit the store on Gordonton Road for the day's bake, or order online — Volare bakes daily and delivers same-day across Auckland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, with free delivery on orders over $60. The bakery also fronts the Cambridge farmers market on Saturdays and the Hamilton farmers market on Sundays, and its bread appears on shelves at stockists throughout the North Island. Cafés and restaurants can open wholesale accounts to put Pain au Levain and the rest of the range on their own menus.
Volare is explicit that it wouldn't be where it is without its community — particularly in the Waikato — and it stays involved with local initiatives and fundraising wherever it can. Behind the counter and in the bakery it's a people-first operation too: from retail to delivery, baking to packing, the team values collaboration, continuous learning and the pursuit of excellence.
All of which means Greenhill Park has a genuinely good bakery in its corner. Come for the award-winning sourdough, stay for the pastries, and if the Winter Warmers are in, take one home — slowly and with intention, as the bakers would tell you.