W
hether you’re looking for
an expertly pulled
espresso, a sandwich
pilled high with thoughtfully considered local
ingredients or a loaf of bread so fresh its
crust shatters like glass when you cut
through it, Bread By Us has got you covered
for that and so much more.
The humble shop tucked snuggly away in the
eclectic and vibrant Hintonburg neighbourhood is owned by Jessica Carpione, one of
the kindest and most passionate bakers you’ll
meet in Ottawa. The bakery is always
buzzing with feel-good vibes and the sound
of joyful, satiated patrons mmm’ing over the
many sweet and savory concoctions offered.
A bakery with a social conscious, BBU offers
a ‘suspended program’ where patrons are
encouraged to purchase an extra coffee or
loaf of bread that gets listed on a blackboard
for others to claim free of charge. Whatever
is left is donated to the local Food Bank.
From their brilliant sourdough loaves to the
flaky pain-au-chocolate, the buttery scones to
their famous foccacia, each item sold is
oozing with love. Getting to talk to Jessica
about the past, present and future of
Bread By Us was a joy. It’s obvious in her
words that she’s incredibly passionate about
her work, her staff, and her incredible food.
1. Why did you open Bread By Us?
I discovered quickly when I shifted gears
and started taking on baking professionally
that I felt like a bit of an outsider, or as
though I did not feel like Ottawa had the
types of opportunities I was looking for. I
wanted to bake bread intensively, and focus
entirely on that craft. I imagined myself
presenting a certain style of bread that I felt
passionate about, but in every opportunity
that was presenting itself, it didn't feel like
exactly the type of work and philosophy
I wanted to adopt. So my main motivator to
open, I suppose, was that I wanted to
immerse myself in my craft in a way where
I could be in control of the type of work
I was doing. Secondarily, I also wanted to
open a place that would challenge some of
the accepted working standards in my
industry. The food and restaurant industry
has notoriously low standards for wages and
general treatment of workers, and antiquated
models of hierarchy, and so I wanted to try
and demonstrate that other approaches were
possible. I am an activist at heart, and I see
everything that I do in a broader sense, and
think constantly about how my actions and
decisions can push for positive change.
2. What made Hintonburg an ideal choice
to open up shop?
When we were looking for a retail location
for the bakery, there were three main criteria.
We wanted a location where there was
consistent foot traffic and fell within what we
would consider the core of the city. We also
wanted to be amongst the residents of a
neighbourhood. It was important that our
core customer base also lived in the neighbourhood because we felt that would root us
more deeply with the community and would
help our chances of being embraced/seen
as an integral part of the neighbourhood.
Although it can be an important proportion
of a business’ clientele, we did not want the
majority of our customers to be commuters
passing through, or tourists that come and
go. Hintonburg was a great rooted community that happens to be centrally located.
Lastly, we hoped to find a location with affordable rent rates. While it may not be true
in a few years from now (we are keeping our
fingers crossed), it is currently possible to
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