Regular customers of B.C.91裸聊视频檚 oldest bakery may be surprised to learn 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 was housed in a downtown Victoria heritage building that was erected in 1887 by Louis Franz Wille, who opened the original 91裸聊视频淲ille91裸聊视频檚91裸聊视频� 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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91裸聊视频淲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,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t was kind of a family thing.91裸聊视频�
Stewart worked in the bakery for 20 years and said it was always buzzing with customers.
91裸聊视频淢y God, on Saturday morning it was lined up out the door; we91裸聊视频檇 sell 1,000 loaves of bread on a Saturday,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭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.91裸聊视频�
The bakery offered 32 varieties of bread, all baked on bricks.
After 20 years in the business, the flour got to Stewart91裸聊视频檚 lungs, and he contracted baker91裸聊视频檚 asthma, a common occupational allergic disease caused by long-term exposure to flour.
91裸聊视频淚 jumped at it and sold it because I was mad. The doctors told me if I didn91裸聊视频檛 quit, I91裸聊视频檇 die.91裸聊视频�
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 Willie91裸聊视频檚 Cafe and Bakery, adding an extra 91裸聊视频渋91裸聊视频� in honour of their son91裸聊视频檚 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 Wille91裸聊视频檚, and was told it would be considered.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 want any money, I just want to see it how it was,91裸聊视频� Stewart said.
He was surprised, however, to hear that Willie91裸聊视频檚 had closed, but he had no idea the reasoning behind it.
In the end though, he hopes to see the business continue. 91裸聊视频淚f I won the $50-million lottery, I91裸聊视频檇 buy the building and start the business all over again,91裸聊视频� he said.
The current owners of Willie91裸聊视频檚 Bakery did not respond to a request for comment by the time of this writing.
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