The little bakery bringing big flavours to Stockton
When Shivangi Maheshwari opened the doors to Starter Stories in Stockton on Friday, February 21, she was met with a sight that any baker would dream of – customers lining up before she had even unlocked the door.
Shivangi Maheshwari
For Shivangi, the venue’s owner, the overwhelming response was both unexpected and deeply gratifying.
“I make the product right here, it’s something that I create with my own hands. To have people queuing up for that is pretty special,” Shivangi said.
The bakery, nestled in Stockton, is a reflection of Shivangi’s global journey and her love for artisanal baking. Born in India and raised in East Africa, she relocated to Australia in 2013, living in Perth before relocating to Newcastle with her German partner.
“With my partner being German, that’s where a lot of my love for German and European-style pastries and bread comes from. Most of our product range is German and Eastern European-inspired with a touch of my Indian heritage intertwined. I play on flavours from the Indian side, but the dough is more traditional.”
Starter Stories, however, wasn’t always part of the plan. Shivangi’s first business, The Colour Bug – one some of you may remember – originally opened on Hunter Street before moving to Darby Street. The boutique known for its boldly colourful clothing and lifestyle products officially transitioned online in 2024 to allow her to focus on her growing passion for baking.
“Starter Stories actually all started because of COVID. Like a lot of people, I was spending a lot of time at home and I started playing with sourdough. I have loved baking and cooking all of my life and now I had the time to start playing with sourdough.”
What began as a hobby soon grew into something much larger.
“I started baking for myself, then for my friends, and then they wanted to preorder. Then all of a sudden I was getting enquiries from people I didn’t know asking how they could preorder and pick up. All of this started in my tiny little apartment in Newcastle. I just had a standard size oven and could only cook four loaves at a time.”
After moving from that apartment to Stockton four years ago, Shivangi continued Starter Stories as a side hustle, but also saw the need for more local businesses in the area.
“There are so many people living here and there’s just not enough happening. So, I started thinking more seriously about Starter Stories and began looking around for a space.”
Every detail of Starter Stories has been designed to create an intimate, transparent experience for customers. A key feature of the space is the venue’s glass panel, which allows everyone to see right into the studio kitchen.
“We make everything from scratch here and use honest ingredients. This panel was so important because I want people to see what we use, the processes we have, and the people that are behind it all.”
Since its official opening on Friday, February 21, Starter Stories has already become a cherished part of the Stockton community with Shivangi continuing to sell out every weekend since.
The menu at Starter Stories is a sourdough lover’s dream.
“All of our sourdough breads have been naturally leavened and made from scratch right here. We have about 20-24 different flavours of sourdough with around six or seven available each day. That’s where my passion and creativity gets excited. I also hand-score every loaf.”
Alongside the bread, customers can also find a rotating selection of pastries and a small selection of low-gluten products.
The bakery also serves coffee thanks to Lambton-based roastery, Sprocket.
“It’s a lovely little sub-story there. When I first moved to Newcastle, I was working just down the road from their first cafe. When I decided to open up the bakery, I knew I wanted Sprocket coffee.”
Looking ahead, Shivangi envisions Starter Stories to be more than just a bakery. She hopes it will become a social hub for Stockton locals. Already working towards this, Shivangi is working with other small businesses to stock complementary products on their retail wall, as well as fresh blooms from a local florist.
“Stockton is such a hub and I really want to see it grow. One thing that was really lovely about the opening weekend was that so many locals came in and told me how excited they were. It makes you feel like you’ve done the right thing and that kind of response from the community was just amazing.”
With passion, dedication, and a deep connection to the local community, Starter Stories is more than just a bakery – it’s a love letter to Stockton and the joy of freshly baked bread.
