Tarts Anon, which rose to prominence in the Melbourne baking scene during the pandemic, has announced their flagship store in Cremorne will close in the coming months.

Owner Gareth Whitton said plans were being put in motion so business would experience as little disruption as possible while they searched for a new location, and the Collingwood store would remain open.

“We were told our landlord sold the warehouse we’re currently inhabiting, as well as two other adjacent warehouses they own. My understanding is they will demolish the interiors for other uses,” he said.

“We have chosen not to dwell on the specifics and are trying to get into a new site as soon as possible.”

Gareth said there was a little bit of uncertainty about what the next few months looked like for Tarts Anon, and the final day of trading at Cremorne was still to be announced.

“…but we’re hoping to just enjoy the last bit of time we have left here and raise as much capital as we can so we can keep all staff on and create an exciting new venue for us to all work out of,” Gareth said.

“This will give us plenty of time to completely empty the Cremorne kitchen and move directly into – hopefully – our new kitchen straight away.”

The final few months of trading at Tarts Anon Cremorne will see a classic menu on offer featuring some old favourites.

Gareth said this was in part so their regulars could enjoy a tart one more time before the move, and also because the new site they hope to move into may offer a little bit more freedom in terms of space and capacity.

“We’re hoping to be able to do some new menu items to add a little more excitement. So when time allows, I’m planning on developing some of those new products so that we can launch them as soon as we reopen our flagship,” he said.

Gareth said nothing was set in stone as far as where the new location could be, but there were a few promising locations they’d seen that ticked all the right boxes.

“We really appreciate the community that we have built in the Richmond/Cremorne area. It has been the home of Tarts Anon for five years now,” he said.

As for how the Tarts Anon – and wider baking community – can provide support, Gareth said he and his team were already grateful for much they get back from their community.

“The only support we would ever need from our community is to continue to come in and buy a tart!” he said.

“The more people who come past and buy pastry, the sooner we’ll be able to open up again.”