Broadview Avenue’s St. John’s Bakery has been making bread and helping those in need for more than 30 years

By JESSICA SHACKLETON

St. John’s Bakery has been a staple in the East Toronto area for years. An extension of the St. John the Compassionate Mission, it aims to help the community while making delicious baked goods.

As a not-for-profit social enterprise, the bakery located on Broadview Avenue between Queen Street East and Dundas Street East, gives a wide variety of people a chance to gain valuable job experience. It’s a hand-up, not a hand-out, said bakery manager George Spandouis.

“(It’s an) opportunity for work experience to move on to other places,” he said in a recent interview with Beach Metro Community News. “It’s quality in and out, and at the same time helping people out.”

Bakers at St. John’s are not professionals and don’t have prior experience but they work together to learn to bake and work around the shop. Everybody gets to take part and have a hand in a successful business.

“It is extremely important that our employees be prepared for permanent work beyond our door. Providing skill sets and more importantly individual healing has always been our number one goal,” said the bakery’s website.

“People come to volunteer and gain interest and get more involved,” said Spandouis.

It can often be scary to start a new job, but when Heidi Gatto began at St. John’s bakery recently, she said she immediately felt welcomed and safe.

“It’s not too rushy or pushy and helps people get out there,” said Gatto. “No one judges, it’s OK to make a mistake.”

The atmosphere of the bakery obviously reflects its message and mission, with a welcoming staff and everyone working together in the kitchen, which customers can see when they come in the door.

It all started when Father Roberto (who’s supposed to be retired but still keeps busy with the bakery and the Mission) went to Brittany, France and learned how to make authentic French bread. He eagerly returned to Toronto to share what he had learned. For more than three decades, the bakery has been dedicated to baking quality products and being a starting point for some of the city’s best bakers.

Beyond being an environment that promotes learning, St. John’s Bakery has won many awards and its products can be found at the Big Carrot locations in East Toronto (Kingston Road and Southwood Drive; and Carrot Common at Danforth and Jackman avenues) and other area markets and stores.

The bakery has at least four different kinds of sourdough bread, all of them organic. It’s a favourite item of many customers, said Spandouis.

At the end of the day, any leftovers from the bakery go to the Mission next door to help feed those in need.

Baked goods, particularly bread, bring people together and the bakery’s long history in the neighbourhood is valuable to recognize, said Spandouis.

“Bread itself is something people have been enjoying for years and it continues,” he said.

Located at 153 Broadview Ave., St. John’s Bakery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offers bread, croissants, scones, cookies, and more.

To learn about St. John’s Bakery, please visit: https://www.stjohnsbakery.com/index.htm