According to the pair, the deal signals a new chapter for the Munster Road site, with the business now led day-to-day by Anna Konig and Ben Costello (pictured below).
Konig previously worked with Howard at his Michelin-starred Elystan Street restaurant in Chelsea before undertaking various stages at leading bakeries.
Costello joins from FARRO Bakery in Bristol and has spent the past decade “earning a reputation as a truly exceptional baker”.
“Anna and Ben represent the future of this much-loved artisan bakery,” says Howard. “They are young, incredibly talented and will evolve the product, following a strong ethos that uses unique, varied, local and sustainable ingredients.”
According to Howard and Dyer, who together operate three NOTTO pasta restaurants, the bakery will remain rooted in the same values “that have made it such a fixture of the neighbourhood: small-batch baking, exceptional bread and viennoiserie, and a humble, community-first approach”.
The original team has been retained in full, with the core menu preserved. New additions and refinements will showcase the results of using only English — and mostly heritage — grain.
Dyer, who lives locally, has been visiting Little Sourdough Kitchen for years. Conversations with the previous owner began organically, initially around producing more focaccia for NOTTO.
When it became clear the owner was planning a return to Italy and looking to sell, the opportunity presented itself.
“It was already an excellent bakery — that was the point,” says Dyer. “This wasn’t about coming in and changing something; it was about protecting it, supporting it, and helping it develop and expand.”
The bakery will close briefly after the New Year for refurbishment, reopening at the end of January.
Designed by Claire Nelson, with Ollie Marks (brother of Perilla’s Ben Marks) overseeing the cabinetry and woodwork, the refreshed space will feature natural wood, earthy textures and a bright yellow palette.