Revealed: Westside Hotbreads crowned Warwick’s best bakery

Opening their doors less than 18 months ago and just before COVID struck, this bakery has undergone a whirlwind transformation from new kid on the block to the Rose City’s top choice.

Westside Hotbread team members Grace Kenny and Fiona Woodley with owner and baker Darren Watts (middle).

After more than 30 years in the industry and building several bakeries across Queensland from the ground up, winning the Warwick community’s support was just the icing on the cake for Westside Hotbreads owner Darren Watts.

Starting up the bakery in December, 2019, Darren and his team battled through COVID restrictions alongside the usual difficulties of starting up a new business, and have now been voted in as the Rose City’s best bakery.

The baker said he’d always been passionate about his craft, starting his apprenticeship when he was just 15 and running bakeries in Hervey Bay and Bundaberg before launching his Warwick venture.

“I sold up a bakery in Hervey Bay and we were looking for a colder climate to sell more pies and that sort of thing, so that was something I was really looking forward to,” Mr Watts said.

“We’ve got onto a good butcher in town, so all of our stuff is found locally and then made on premises.

“I’m getting too long in the tooth now, so I think this will be my last (bakery). But we’ve been fortunate that we’ve got a good location out on the highway … and we’re starting to build up a really strong clientele with the locals, too.”

Stocking an enormous range of breads, sandwiches, and sweet or savoury pastries, Mr Watts said his most in-demand items were by far the variety of loaves baked on ‘Sourdough Sundays’.

With customers flocking to Westside Hotbreads from Stanthorpe, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast, the baker said it was time for his venture to expand.

“We’ve outgrown where we are now, so we’re taking over the space next door. We’re going to have tables and chairs just to offer somewhere to sit and (customers) can have their coffee or pie on the go,” he said.

“It’s always hard going into a new business, but we’ve been supported by the locals out there and it’s been really good encouragement.”

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