‘It’s a destination’: Paddock Bakery raises the stakes with The Loft

WITH ornate, antique French adornments and foliage peeking through second storey windows, take a look inside Paddock Bakery’s new ‘The Loft’.

WAITING for a table at Paddock Bakery on a weekend is a Gold Coast rite of passage, but those days might be over.

Kerry, Larry and daughter Chloe Watts, who own Paddock and the land itself, have renovated the old building on the edge of the property, adding around 40 seats and a function space.

The Loft will seat 40-50 extra diners, and allow for up to 60 for functions. Picture Glenn Hampson

But what they have that so many Gold Coast businesses don’t, is history, and they attribute that in part to their success.

“When we bought the block in 2013 the landowner kind of assumed we’d be demolishing the cottage, but we thought no, we fell in love with the building and the land itself,” Mrs Kerry Watts said.

It almost feels like you’re eating among the treetops at The Loft, Paddock’s newest addition. Picture Glenn Hampson

“Where The Loft is now was built in the ’50s and it was originally at ground level, so they built the factory downstairs and lifted the house up.

“The cottage was built in the 1950s and relocated on the back of a truck from Ipswich in the 1970s.

“We’ve got photos of what the Gold Coast was like in the ’60s and ’70s, there was nothing here, it was farms and cows.”

Owner Chloe Watts in The Loft, which has an antique farmhouse feel. Picture Glenn Hampson

Paddock converts will know the bakehouse was started by Ben and Ursula Watts, the son and daughter-in-law of Kerry and Larry, but when they put it on the market earlier in the year it was snapped up by familiar faces.

“When Ben and Ursh wanted to move on, we had so much emotional attachment and we couldn’t let go of it,” Ms Chloe Watts said.

“This spot just can’t be replicated.”

“People come from all over because they’ve heard about it,” Mrs Kerry Watts continued.

“There’s nowhere else where you can dine under the trees, we’ve tried to create an ambience where you can’t get anywhere else and people love it rain, hail or shine.”

Amber Heard and Elon Musk were Paddock regulars when they were on the GC.

The Loft is part of an ongoing Paddock expansion, with a downstairs renovation (and possible after dark action) in the pipeline, and ideas being tossed around for an empty hinterland facing rooftop.

Ms Chloe Watts said their end goal is to make Paddock a representation of the true Gold Coast.

Diners try out the new upstairs eating area at Paddock Bakery at Miami. Picture Glenn Hampson

“I think people come here and realise this is what the Gold Coast is all about,” she said.

“There’s so much more to us than Surfers Paradise.

“Paddock is a destination and we’ll continue to grow and build because it’s where our hearts are.”