FLERE FUGLE

How a bakery outgrew its traditional confines and helped transform a neighborhood

Even on a Tuesday afternoon, the courtyard at Flere Fugle is teeming with activity: A large group has just arrived for lunch and taken up the remaining outside seating space. Even though the weather on this Tuesday in May is slightly chilly, with rain clouds looming on the horizon. At the same time, the queue for the counter inside is building as well.

This is unusual for a bakery, whose peak hours are usually much earlier in the day. And it’s double unusual for a place in Copenhagen NV, or Northwest, an under-the-radar neighborhood in the outskirts of the city. People have been calling it up-and-coming for more than a decade, but now it might finally be coming true.

However, Flere Fugle is much more than a bakery. This is also key to its success, as it is operating in the crowded market of so-called gourmet bakeries. A niche that was recently declared to be over by none other than Christian Puglisi, upon closing his own craft bakery, Mirabelle.

“None of us are bakers. We don’t even have a background in the industry, although Flere Fugle is not our first place, says Mattias Smidt, one of the three co-owners of Flere Fugle. “That has set us free to think differently about our concept: Although we’re still ambitious on behalf of taste, produce and quality, and work with talented bakers, we knew from the start that our edge had to come from the vibe, the atmosphere and our relationship to our guests and the neighborhood.”

“None of us are bakers. We don’t even have a background in the industry. That has set us free to think differently about our concept.”

The outsiders

Mattias Smidt is a former public-school teacher, and his wife, Marie, is an occupational therapist. Along with Andreas Lundberg, a former high school teacher, they form the trio of owners at Flere Fugle. Longtime residents of Copenhagen NV, they had a dream of running a local coffee shop. A somewhat romantic and naïve fantasy when confronted with reality, Mattias Smidt concedes.

So, as complete outsiders, they founded Café Fovl, the predecessor to Flere Fugle, back in 2016. Fovl was also a rarity in Northwest back then: It had longer opening hours, and partnered with DJ’s, musicians, poets and others to host evening activities, which was uncommon for places in the neighborhood at the time.

It was on this same philosophy that Flere Fugle opened in 2022, with bigger ambitions and a bigger venue. The emphasis was on high-quality bread and pastry – and a lot of other things.

  • Flere Fugle is a rare kind of hybrid in Copenhagen’s restaurant scene: Founded and owned by complete outsiders to the industry, it is equal parts bakery, event space, and restaurant. We are inspired by how they have diversified their brand and identity, as well as how they play a key role in putting Copenhagen Northwest on the map as an interesting, up-and-coming neighborhood for both locals and visitors.

Beyond the bakery

“Our ambitions were definitely multiplied here, and we wanted to work even closer and more long-term with our partners,” Mattias Smidt says. He points to their collaboration with Peech, a Copenhagen-based sex shop aimed at ending sexual taboos, as a recent example. They’ve hosted a series of recurring talks at Flere Fugle, which has brought new audiences and more awareness to the place.

“We could probably make a leaner, more effective business by simply scaling up the bakery and scaling down on everything else. But I don’t think we’d know how, and that was never the goal”

“When we started at Fovl, we needed to partner up with others because of the location and to attract enough people. Now, it’s become part of our DNA, and we also get approached by people who want to work with us. We could probably make a leaner, more effective business by simply scaling up the bakery and scaling down on everything else. But I don’t think we’d know how, and that was never the goal,” he says.

Instead, the team’s approach has been a never-ending diversification beyond the core bakery product.

They recently hired a former Bæst pizza baker and launched a full-fledged pizzeria for lunch and dinner. This makes the most of the baking equipment already installed and appeals to a new segment of restaurant-goers, which is still relatively underserved in the neighborhood.

A neighborhood in transition

Places like Flere Fugle have also been instrumental in transforming Northwest. The neighborhood is a former industrial zone with a distinct working-class heritage and affordable housing. It has also had its share of problems with crime but is now entering a transitory phase:

The social housing projects are now designed by world-renowned architects, and creative businesses, cafés, and restaurants are moving into the remaining factories, forges, and garages. It’s still cheaper to live here than in the rest of Copenhagen, so the demographic is markedly more diverse.

“Being an active part of Copenhagen NV is a huge driving force for us, and this neighborhood is the source of most of our returning guests, which is our most important relation. We also feel privileged to be able to give something back to the neighborhood,” Mattias Smidt says.

Mattias Smidt’s tips

We asked all interviewees for their best advice based on their own experiences in the industry. Here are Mattias Smidt’s tips for you, if you’re a restaurateur, chef or entrepreneur within the restaurant business:

  • It may sound strange coming from me, as we do all kinds of things beyond the “basic” bakery here at Flere Fugle. However, there was no way we could do that if we hadn’t worked hard on streamlining our production and concept as well as our front-of-house.

  • Our biggest asset beyond our people is our location, more broadly in Copenhagen NV and specifically at The Democracy Garage, which is a unique kind of community center working to spread democratic ideals and practices. It’s important that our values are aligned.