Construction can’t slow down bakery

May 10, 2024

An image of a mountain of cookie dough inside the Sweet North Bakery kitchen window juxtaposed with excavating equipment outside pretty much encompasses the upheaval during the Waterfront Improvement construction.

Bakery owner Erin DeLorenzi posted the image to social media with a gentle reminder for their customers not to forget them during the construction.

“We miss waving to you through the window and seeing your puppies and your little ones,” DeLorenzi’s post included. “Exciting things are happening downtown but to be honest. . . we miss you!”

She said that posting was not easy to write, but she didn’t want to give any wrong impression and wanted to remain positive as well as honest.

“It was feeling almost like the pandemic all over again. When you put a physical barrier in the way, people go elsewhere,” she said. “The one good thing about the pandemic, and I’m sure a lot of small business owners will agree, is that we learned how to adjust and cope and figure it out, troubleshoot and fight for our business.

“So we’re primed for this but it’s also exhausting after three years of doing that. It’s not completely like the pandemic because people still can come and are still working in the area.”

DeLorenzi says they had to start reducing hours and resorted to strategies for getting people in the door which involved joining Skip the Dishes and other platforms.

“When the construction started to get really close, and the street was closed, that’s when we started to really feel a drop and we thought, ‘OK, this is not going to fly and we need to do something here,’” she said. “We just decided it’s time to be honest with our city and our customers that have supported us for 10 years and just say small businesses can’t survive this.

“Yes, it’s a lot and we’re trying really carefully to not sound like we’re whining, but we really needed a good summer. We just really needed it for our business and for our mental health.”

DeLorenzi pointed out that they’re all “very happy this is happening” sooner rather than later. But it doesn’t mean it’s not a challenge.

“I just felt like it’s time to let our patrons know that this is hard,” she said.

Nadin Contracting crews have made good progress on the project and try to minimize the disruption to businesses. DeLorenzi noted that construction workers have been very helpful and accommodating and even helped them unload groceries and food supplies.

The Waterfront Business Improvement Area has provided signage in the area and is promoting the abundance of parking on the street, in the parkade and in city lots.

Kara Pratt, executive director for the Waterfront BIA, says she is waiting for businesses to provide her with logos and designs for signs that the BIA is preparing for installation in the area.

“They are flowerpot signs that are 16 by 24 inches, similar to the size that you may see on somebody’s lawn for pride,” Pratt said. “Nadin Contracting is making sure all the planters are lined up at the entrance.”

Pratt noted that construction is progressing quickly now that they’ve gotten out of the Park Avenue intersection and are moving towards the Red River Road intersection.

“We’re trying to help as best as we can. Nadin Contracting is doing the same thing and is working their best to be (the least) cause of disruption for businesses as they possibly can,” she said. “I can’t say enough good things for the hoops that the (crews) are jumping through with the age of the infrastructure that’s underground. They’re doing their best and we really appreciate that the public understands that.”

The BIA is hosting two-hour, free sessions called Tonka Tuesdays and Little Wednesdays at Maple Tops and Fun Fridays out on the streets where summer students are running activities for kids on the sidewalk.

“We’re really leaning into it,” she said, adding the activities include construction themes at Goods and Co. and will continue to the end of the construction phase.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) has Sweet North Bakery creating cookies for 100 Mexican firefighters who are taking a break in the city from the smoke and flames.

“They’ve got some time in town and the MNRF wanted to give them a treat in their rooms while they’re in the city that is Canadian and local,” said DeLorenzi. “We made Maple Leaf maple cookies for them.”

She says watching the construction is “pretty cool” especially because it’s what she calls a “generation project — once every 100 years.”

“I’m posting videos of the work because it’s pretty cool and I’m trying to put that positive spin on it,” she said.

Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal