Stuart Howe is the owner of Saint John Bakery. (Image: Cherise Letson)
Saint John Bakery owner, Stuart Howe didn’t plan at first to have a second location in Saint John, but after driving through the West Side neighbourhoods while temporarily living in an Airbnb he had a change of heart.
“I drove through these neighborhoods – I hadn’t lived here for most of my adult life, and I forgot how many people lived over here on the West Side; it’s like a completely different Saint John,” says Howe. “When I spent the time on the West Side I realized, ‘Why would I leave Saint John? — I’ve got this amazing opportunity with all these folks!’”
After he moved back to Saint John two years ago after living in the US., where he worked as a professional opera singer and owned his own wedding planning company, Howe was inspired to open a bakery after helping his parents run the Village Square Bake Shop in Grand Bay-Westfield.
Interior of Saint John Bakery’s West Side location at 640 Manawagonish Road (Image: Elizabeth MacLeod)
Saint John Bakery opened its first location on 533 Westmorland Road last September, after a six month delay, and quickly gathered an online following on Facebook and Instagram.
Howe says the bakery completely relied on its customers and fans to get them through the winter and pandemic phase changes.
“It was scary with the pandemic – every time you’re delayed its costing you money and losing sales that could possibly be happening,” he explained. “When I went online and said, ‘we’re only going to survive if you help us out because we don’t qualify for any assistance,’ our customers responded to that and the whole team is really grateful for everybody that kept us going.”
A section of Saint John Bakery’s delicious goods (Image: Saint John Bakery Facebook)
Saint John Bakery’s West Side location will tentatively open in mid-September at 640 Manawagonish Road at the Lancaster Plaza. It is nearly 3500 square feet, will contain four ovens and will be managed by 20 full and part-time employees. The facility will give the staff to be more efficient, have more space to bake and include seating where people can enjoy their baked goods.
Howe shared he still wants to expand Saint John Bakery throughout New Brunswick and opening smaller hybrid bakeries throughout Saint John.
“I’m just super grateful to our customers on the East Side that have made us opening on the West Side possible,” he said. “Everybody just jumped in from the equipment suppliers to the landlords, they did everything to try to make it easy and so at some point, it’s a no brainer.”
