Coming Soon: Tarts Anon’s “Nightmare” Is Nearly Over

Things aren’t as bad as Gareth Whitton expected. In early February, the Tarts Anon co-founder found out the original Cremorne premises – where all the tarts are produced and the business has operated since 2022 – had changed owners and would need to be vacated by mid-March, leaving the team with five weeks to find a new space. Fortunately, the new landlord has allowed Tarts to extend its Cremorne stay until May.

And after what Whitton describes as a “pretty painful” process to find a new space, he and partner Catherine Way just signed a lease in Richmond, behind Top Paddock.

The new site is about the same size as Cremorne, but Whitton says the team is making better use of it. There’ll be some outdoor seating, a bigger space for eating in, and a glassed-in kitchen so customers can watch the pastry chefs at work. Plus, more parking.

“These are usually the things people have a gripe with, so you can’t say we’re not listening,” Whitton says.

The Richmond space is expected to open in mid-May, with the Cremorne store and the CBD pop-up at Liminal staying open until then. There will be no changes to the Collingwood location.

Whitton is also working on Tarts Anon’s first non-tart product. After a year at Lune in 2020, where he “fell in love” with making croissants and viennoiserie, Whitton he’s planning on using croissant dough – and says he may delve deeper into the laminated pastry world.

While unexpected, Whitton says the situation in Cremone has been “a blessing in disguise”, especially given how competitive the neighbourhood has become recently with Baker Bleu and Hot-Listed Hector’s Bakery both opening nearby in the past three months.

“And it’s been a nightmare,” he adds. While the next few months for the business are a lot clearer than they were in February, there’s a lot of work to do. “It feels like we’re still really in the trenches.”

Tarts Anon plans to open at 10/658 Church Street, Richmond in June 2025.