Leo & Co., a Toronto-based bakery, is reopening after an overheated electrical panel sparked a fire on Valentine's Day, causing them to temporarily halt operations.
The bakery was founded by two sisters, Antonia and Ivana Juric, with the intention to provide delicious baked goods to people with unique dietary requirements, ranging from diabetes-friendly products to paleo, keto, vegan and autoimmune protocol (AIP). The fire resulted in a week-long power outage and thousands of dollars in lost orders and equipment.
"Luckily, the building structurally was okay––what caused the most damage was the fire extinguisher," said the sisters. "The dust got on everything so that resulted in us having to throw out a ton of product."
Bouncing back from a fire in the midst of a pandemic is certainly a daunting prospect, but the pair provided some revealing, yet hopeful insights into the task at hand. They said it mainly involved the two of them "scrambling and trying to figure out where to complete [their] Valentines day orders," racing back and forth in a concerted effort to limit their losses and dealing with the fire department and their landlord.
"We are basically a two-woman team over here, so there was a lot on our shoulders, but our number one goal was to make sure everyone who placed an order would receive it no matter what," they said.
Thankfully, Antonia and Ivana were able to secure a temporary workspace and fulfill their commitment to their customers.
"We kept really high spirits over the weekend," they said, which was followed by a hard earned week off for them both.
Though Leo & Co. will be able to re-open their kitchen, shouldering damage from the fire was just the latest challenge on a list of many.
Despite limited contact becoming the norm and because of the unique nature of Leo & Co. products, customers sampling their creations in person is integral to the success of the business. Not being able to do so has made it increasingly difficult to understand client needs.
However, the girls explained they have partially combatted the problem by "being as interactive as possible through digital means," and that they will often "sit there on the phone with [customers] for an hour because we just want to hear what they have to say." But, there are so many other great ways to support local businesses, they added, and it doesn't have to involve long phone calls, spending money or risking a trip to the store.
"The best thing anyone can do for local business right now is raise awareness. You can share a post, write a review on Google or like and comment on social media," they said.
The significance of Leo & Co's re-opening reaches far beyond just business as usual. The bakery serves a wider purpose for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to enjoy the simple pleasures of freshly baked cookies.
"It sounds silly, but the community that supports us have never been able to eat regular cookies or baked goods before," they said. "We now have this phenomenal support system around us... sometimes on big bake days we look around and think, wow, this many people are eating our baked goods and interacting with our business. This is crazy"
