My husband loves to tell people he bought the bakery because he didn’t want to drive half-way across the island every morning—a trip of five minutes!—to fetch me a latte. He’s only kidding; the real reason was that he wanted Maureen’s cinnamon buns back!

I, on the other hand, was perfectly happy letting him drive half-way across the island to the Village Café or Artworks for my lattes; I have enough trouble keeping my own kitchen clean and organized without worrying about another.

Of course, he keeps telling me over and over and over that it really won’t mean any extra work for me, but I can feel it already creeping into quality walking and writing time. I tend to be a pessimist.

I will admit that opening day was a hoot. From the time the doors opened at 9, until after 4, the placed was filled with well-wishers and friends and many people who just thought we were open for business as usual; obviously people who had been off island for the past month and hadn’t realized that the doors had been closed for awhile.

I will also admit that I miss the people contact I had when I worked in our restaurant in Calgary. There were the favourite customers who always made your day, but I also remember some nasty people interactions.  I tend to have limited tolerance for stupid questions; perhaps the reason Jordan gave me a rubber stamp that reads: Staple this to your face! That’s why it is better that cheerful and less-jaded young girls like the Natalies and Pipers of the world, work the front lines.

It’s fun to play house—or bakery—for awhile. Owning your own bakery means never having to run out of sugar or eggs for home, and when you need a teaspoon of cumin or chili powder, you don’t need to buy a whole jar.

I admit that I had a “moment” when Neil Adam arrived with his bag pipes to properly open the new venture, and when flowers arrived and cards of well-wishes, I was practically teary eyed.

But then I realized that in the dizzy days of rushing around to get ready for the opening, I had completely forgotten to send the kids and my Mom anything for Easter, and I always remember.

My job description, although somewhat vague, will be bookkeeper, recipe consultant, plant waterer, and occasional counter help. I will also be in charge of changing the reading material on a regular basis and, when we figure out the CD player, selecting background music. I won’t be doing the baking.

Another misconception that became apparent on opening day was that Jordan and I intend to make Twin Beaches Bakery something wildly different than the bakery Maureen and Tony ran. Well, other than to have it open 6 days a week and opened earlier to catch the 8:55 ferry rush, and later to catch the homeward-bound 4:50 ferry crowd, we liked the bakery when they ran it.

We liked Maureen’s breads and her soups, especially the curried lentil, and the kids loved the calzones and pizza sticks. Jordan and just about everyone else were nuts about her cinnamon rolls. With that in mind, we dragged Maureen out of retirement for a few weeks to teach Jordan and our new baker, Tara, all of her secrets.

We are also fortunate to have Tara Qua taking on the job of manager and baker. Anyone who has eaten one of her amazing focaccia or her Tomato pesto cheese sticks from the market in the summer knows that she has some secrets of her own.

I am hoping that with Tara’s influence and some of my own input, we might be able to convince Jordan to add more whole wheat products, specifically pizza crusts, and perhaps add one or two nutritious and high-energy cookies or bars. We would also like to add at least one gluten-free products. But in no way does this mean we intend to change the focus to one of a health food store; Harvest Thyme does a wonderful job of that already.

There are also plenty of places on the island to get Caesar salads and a glass of wine, or chicken wings and beer. Just not at the bakery.

Jordan will probably take a run at tray catering because that is what he likes to do best. It seems to be the natural extension of running a bakery and sandwich shop. I just know that it means I will soon find holes in my basket and platter shelves! But not right away

I think that first and foremost, Twin Beaches Bakery will stay true to its original style and be a place for hearty soups and sandwiches; decadent brownies and butter tarts; meat lovers’ pizzas and sausage rolls. No attempts to make artisanal breads; there is already a couple on the island doing a great job in that niche. If you are looking for a birthday cake, you can get one made at Village Foods; we don’t do speciality cakes. But, and only because they are a favourite of Jordan’s, we might get into doing cheesecakes later. And I hear he has some crazy dream of becoming the bagel king of Gabriola!

The bakery will continue to make the kinds of hearty breads that are great sliced for making sandwiches and toast. It was a favourite stop for the trades when working at our end of the island, and I think it should remain that way.

Don’t expect a fancy name change either. Twin Beaches Bakery: tells you where it is and what it is.

For now, I have a picture in my mind of a friendly spot I could see my Dad walking to every day for a cup of coffee or bowl of soup, and a bright corner to read his pocket book.