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When Una Leonard opened a tiny bakehouse to steady her mental health, she had little idea it would grow into a celebrity‑favoured brand. Today her company, 2210 Patisserie, supplies cakes nationwide and runs two shops, but its origins were deeply personal and fragile.
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Una, a baker and two‑time author from Westmeath, says baking became the one thing that brought her joy after a period of severe depression. She took time out of college and spent months recovering from treatment when she began making cakes at her late mother’s kitchen table.
“I think I had hit rock bottom. I’d just come out of rehab and I was making cakes for my mum’s kitchen table and it was the only thing that brought me joy,” she recalled. While on the mend she spotted an A4 notice on Mount Street advertising a café turnkey for €750. Three months later, in February 2015, she signed the lease and opened the bakery.
A business started without a plan
Una says she opened the doors without a traditional business strategy. “My thought when I opened my bakery the first time was not about business. It was ‘F*ck it, what’s the worst thing to happen?’ Genuinely, there was not even a fear for me because I had nothing.”
She worked alongside a part‑time job to keep the oven running and often began baking in the small hours, sometimes with only two hours’ sleep. In the early days the venture relied on family help; her mother, Pauline, was closely involved in the shop’s development.
Pauline encouraged Una to take on a larger premises in Mullingar and was a steady presence through the bakery’s growth. The family later received devastating news about Pauline’s health while Una was completing her second book, Good Together. Pauline died earlier this year after a battle with cancer. Una says she has not yet read the finished book because it brings back difficult memories.
Growth, customers and what matters now
2210 Patisserie has since become a go‑to for high‑profile clients, with Una baking for figures including Pippa O’Connor, Charleen Murphy and Doireann Garrihy. The name of the business is a family nod: it references her nephew Conor’s birthday, 2 February 2010.
Despite the commercial success, Una stresses that people remain central to her work. “It’s all about connection with humans and not being behind the screen as well and actually getting out to talk to them,” she says. She adds that the business owes much to loyal customers and sees the bakery as a way to give thanks.
Where to find 2210 Patisserie
- Pearse Street, Mullingar — the original shop
- Powerscourt Centre, Dublin — the city location
2210 Patisserie also offers nationwide delivery for its cakes.
