As far as most Mondays go, Anh Thu Bui’s was pretty busy.
It was the first day for From Scratch, a new bakery her and her husband, Cong Thanh Huynh, have opened in the location which once featured Ja-Pain Bakery.
While Huynh worked away to prepare for day two, Bui went into detail on what opening day was like this past Monday.
“We planned to open 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.,” Bui explained.
What she wasn’t quite expecting was to have sold out all her bread by lunch time.
“After that, people came for boba tea, but right now, we don’t have much so we have to close and prepare for tomorrow (Tuesday),” she said.
Bui said she hopes people will keep that same energy for the coming days and is looking at a bit of history to help get them off on the right foot.
“Ja-Pain bakery had a good reputation before, and people loved their food too,” said Bui. “So I think people just missed their bakery and wanted to come back and try again.”
Bui added that From Scratch has taken a bit from Ja-Pain’s past menu, whilst also adding some of their own touches like Vietnamese baguettes, which comes from her own personal experiences.
“I’d be working at the office and during lunch time, I’d try to find some food,” she explained. “But there’s very few options around town. We actually don’t have any Asian bread in town.”
Filling that space, whilst also still making bread people know and love, makes for a very simple idea. For Bui, she hopes people will love their traditional culture, as well as appeal to other Asian tourists that come into town.
“We have different style (of) breads back home,” she said. “But we’ve tried to adapt to western culture, too.”
For now, what Bui can be sure of is the warm reception from the city.
“I believe Yellowknife is very welcoming for every new business,” she said. “We appreciate the support.”