Our History
Golden Nugget Bakery was founded in May 1978.
Two brothers wishing to follow their father’s footsteps to own their very own ‘hot bread kitchen’, founded Golden Nugget. The name being chosen for its relevance in Ballarat’s history. The bakery was opened in line with the opening of Wendouree Village Shopping Centre, and still now holds its current position within the centre (at the main entrance)- the only original shop in the centre to have been able to do this.
In November 1998, the business was sold to Colin & Alicia Matthews, who were previous employees of the bakery, and remain the current owners today. Within the first few years of Colin & Alicia taking over the business, various baking and service awards* were being won by the Golden Nugget team, and the new owners realised there was an opportunity for expansion with the idea of a bakery/café in Ballarat CBD. It was around this time that many bakery industry magazines were writing articles about new drive thru bakery concepts that were being developed, especially in America where drive thru coffee was proving to be a big winner.
After spending a few years driving around on weekends looking for that perfect site, Colin & Alicia saw an opportunity that a drive thru site might be becoming vacant in the near future. Finally, after many decisions and much research into drive thru concepts, Colin & Alicia secured Golden Nugget Bakery’s second site at 1117 Sturt St, Ballarat (cnr Sturt & Talbot St) and opened a drive thru bakery and café for the very first time on 13th September 2005.
Within a few years of Sturt St being opened, it was obvious that drive thru service was welcomed in Ballarat with open arms, with a huge following for drive thru coffee being a major drawcard. With this in mind, Colin & Alicia opened a second drive thru bakery in Sebastopol on October 31st, 2013.
Today, Golden Nugget Bakery is dedicated to being one of, if not, the leading bakery in Ballarat. Employing approx. 80 staff, the bakery is focused on the quality of our products and our staff, and will be set apart from it’s competitors by excelling in their drive thru service. Golden Nugget Bakery endeavours to become a household name.
