Historic Port Adelaide Mayfair Bakery marks 150th anniversary and eyes entry into supermarkets

It’s an icon which has been delighting the people of Port Adelaide since 1870 – and no, it’s not the football club but SA’s second longest serving bakery.

Mayfair Bakery owner Phil Donnelly said COVID meant he had to explore new ways of doing business. Picture: Mark Brake

It takes a lot to survive in business, so operating for more than 150 years is no easy feat – but a Port Adelaide bakery has stood the test of time.

Opening in the same year the Port Adelaide Football club was founded, in 1870, the Mayfair Bakery is a true Port icon.

It is the second longest running bakery in South Australia, second only to baking institution Balfours.

The bakery’s long-life also places it in the same sphere for longevity as such well-known Adelaide businesses as Elders, Coopers brewery and the Yalumba winery, all of which were established in the 1800s.

The Mayfair Bakery at Port Adelaide in the 1960s. Picture: Supplied

Over many decades, the bakery has faced challenges such as the Spanish flu, the two world wars, the Great Depression and the global financial crisis.

Then, last year, COVID-19 presented yet another hurdle.

Owner Phil Donnelly said while retail trade was strong through 2020, the coronavirus hit the business hard.

“Due to COVID, I started exploring different options and different ways of selling our products,” he said.

Mr Donnelly developed larger sizes and new packaging for one of the bakery’s most popular items, its gluten-free baked cheesecakes, which he is now in talks with independent supermarkets about stocking.

Phil Donnelly celebrates Mayfair Bakery's 150th anniversary with his gluten free baked blueberry vanilla bean cheesecake he's hoping to get into supermarkets. Picture: Mark Brake

“Fortunately through COVID, people really backed small, family businesses,” he said.

“I had a lot of new customers – people working from home or people who started working in Port Adelaide.

“One thing I’ve noticed with Port Adelaide, once you get to know people, they’re very supportive and loyal (to businesses).”

COVID-19 meant official celebrations for the bakery’s 150th anniversary had to be rescheduled twice, with the event finally happening on the weekend at Port Adelaide’s Folklore Cafe and officiated by Governor Hieu Van Le.