Docker Bakery to open in Dover this Autumn

Docker Bakery are excited to be opening a new site in Dover this autumn, as tenants of Dover District Council, in their newly built Bench building on Bench Street, a stone’s throw from the town’s Market Square, and St James Retail Park.

The Bench, which has been designed as a creative centre and education campus for East Kent College, opens to the public in late August to coincide with the start of the new academic year.

Docker Dover will offer a full range of its freshly-baked sourdough breads, pastries and drinks, including Curve Roasters coffee, alongside a seasonal day-time food menu. The café, which will be accessible from street level, will have approximately 48 covers, with a small number of additional outdoor seats.

Wes Burden, co-founder of Docker said, “We are excited to soon be opening Docker in Dover, and to becoming part of the daily rhythm of this brilliant new building in the heart of the town, serving members of the local community, as well as those studying and working at The Bench.”

Customers will be able to pick up a loaf of bread, or pop by for a coffee and pastry, and the team are also creating a seasonal daytime menu to order from, which will be available to eat in or take away.

Docker Dover opens as the business celebrates its tenth birthday. Docker opened in 2016 in a small shipping container on the East Yard at Folkestone Harbour. Founded by Wesley Burden and Peter Nelson, the Bakery grew from a shared passion for fermentation — both in craft brewing and in sourdough baking. Docker Dover will join Docker’s existing sites in Folkestone at Park Farm, Canterbury at The Goods Shed, and Ashford, which opened in autumn 2025.