For one small enterprise, the past two years have proved that something can indeed come from nothing.
Theatre school graduate Markus Spodzieja entered the pandemic with a three-year-old bike-based bread delivery business. On Aug. 13 he opened a permanent location as Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 first kosher-certified bakery B次元官网网址� and he has plans to expand the operation.
When The Bikery opened in the Victoria Public Market, Spodezeija said, he was B次元官网网址渂lown awayB次元官网网址� to learn it would be the IslandB次元官网网址檚 first completely kosher bakery.
VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Jewish community B次元官网网址� estimated at roughly 5,000 B次元官网网址� has for years relied on frozen orders from Vancouver, occasional kosher batches from otherwise non-kosher establishments, or their own kitchens to provide bread such as the challah used in weekly Shabbat observances, Spodzieja said.
His business partner, Vancouver-based entrepreneur and member of the Jewish community Kimanda Jarzebiak, approached Spodzieja with the proposition of founding the kosher bakery at the beginning of the pandemic in 2019. After making an introduction to Rabbi Meir Kaplan at the Chabad of Vancouver Island, the pair undertook funding efforts, consultations with VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Jewish community and searching for a permanent space.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 when Spodzeija learned Victoria Public Market and the Hudson District have been wanting a bakery for years, he said.
| The Bikery bakery, located on the western side of the Victoria Public Market. (Kiernan Green / B次元官网网址 Staff) |
Since its opening, products at the Bikery B次元官网网址� from classic bread to pretzels, bagels and pastries B次元官网网址� have been made with B次元官网网址渢he highest observance of kosher law.B次元官网网址� The bread is prepared separate from non-kosher meat and dairy and is essentially vegan, other than the inclusion of eggs, which is included in the B次元官网网址渧ery eggyB次元官网网址� challah bread, Spodzeija said.
Many of the bakeryB次元官网网址檚 recipes and techniques have been passed down through the Spodzeija familyB次元官网网址檚 German-Polish tradition. MarkusB次元官网网址檚 father operated a bakery B次元官网网址� CipolliniB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址� in Campbell RiverB次元官网网址檚 Willow Point while he and his sister were in high school, cementing their reverence for the practice. Many of the recipes and braiding techniques applied at the Bikery come from the elder SpodzeijaB次元官网网址檚 accumulated B次元官网网址渂read bible.B次元官网网址�
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As for his own business: B次元官网网址淪o many people have watched the growth of this bakery, seeing it go from my bike, to kitchen to kitchen,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淗alf of all my customers have known me since 2017; they tracked me down on my bike back in the day.B次元官网网址�
The Bikery began four years ago when Spodzeija utilized the City of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Mobile Bike Vending permit to lug a 250-pound cart with his baked goods to different spots across the city.
As the months go on, he hopes to expand his operations beyond two employees to include a kosher deli adjacent to the bakery at Victoria Public Market.
Do you have a story tip? Email: kiernan.green@blackpress.ca.
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