Fans of the lower Johnson Street area of Victoria will recognize the bright blue building that houses WillieB次元官网网址檚 Cafe and Bakery.
Regular customers of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 oldest bakery may be surprised to see that the business has shut down. While a sign in their window on Thursday read that they are closed for kitchen renovations, social media posts and Google listings state the business as permanently closed. No public statement has been made.
The bakery runs out of a heritage building that was erected in 1887 by Louis Franz Wille, who opened the original B次元官网网址淲illeB次元官网网址檚B次元官网网址� Bakery at the site. The Wille family owned and operated the business for nearly 100 years, until the property was sold in 1976.
For Gordon Stewart, it was a natural move for him to work in the bakery his great-grandfather established.
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B次元官网网址淲hen I was going to Central Junior High and Vic High, I used to go down there and clean the pans and do all that kind of stuff, and go in early Saturday morning to help out,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was kind of a family thing.B次元官网网址�
Stewart worked in the bakery for 20 years and said it was always buzzing with customers.
B次元官网网址淢y God, on Saturday morning it was lined up out the door; weB次元官网网址檇 sell 1,000 loaves of bread on a Saturday,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he oven was a Dutch oven, it measured 12 by 15 [feet] and held 305 loaves at a time, all done with a long wooden stick called a peel.B次元官网网址�
The bakery offered 32 varieties of bread, all baked on bricks.
After 20 years in the business, the flour got to StewartB次元官网网址檚 lungs, and he contracted bakerB次元官网网址檚 asthma, a common occupational allergic disease caused by long-term exposure to flour.
B次元官网网址淚 jumped at it and sold it because I was mad. The doctors told me if I didnB次元官网网址檛 quit, IB次元官网网址檇 die.B次元官网网址�
Stewart, who had assumed ownership, sold the business in 1976 and moved back and forth between Smithers and Victoria. He worked for the Department of Highways, as a corrections officer, and eventually became a cattle rancher in Smithers before returning to Sooke, where he now resides.
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In the meantime, the building played several roles under different ownership, including a wool shop, and a bed and breakfast, until it was once again re-opened as a bakery in 1999.
The new owners at the time, Mike and Shellie Gudgeon, renamed it WillieB次元官网网址檚 Cafe and Bakery, adding an extra B次元官网网址渋B次元官网网址� in honour of their sonB次元官网网址檚 name, while still posting on their sign that the business was established in 1887.
Stewart found this a bit contentious, and said he approached the owners several times to inquire about changing the name back to WilleB次元官网网址檚, and was told it would be considered.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want any money, I just want to see it how it was,B次元官网网址� Stewart said.
He was surprised, however, to hear that WillieB次元官网网址檚 had closed, but he had no idea the reasoning behind it.
In the end though, he hopes to see the business continue. B次元官网网址淚f I won the $50-million lottery, IB次元官网网址檇 buy the building and start the business all over again,B次元官网网址� he said.
The current owners of WillieB次元官网网址檚 Bakery did not respond to a request for comment by the time of this writing.
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