Small Business Profile: James Chambers from Chez Angela Bakery and Café

Run with heart by a husband and wife team of almost 30 years, Chez Angela Bakery and Café is a pillar in the Westman community. Serving their community with quality breads, baked goods, breakfast, lunches etc. made from scratch every day, with local ingredients.

How did you get your start?

We always knew we wanted to have a restaurant or café of some sort. With a humble but successful start at the farmers market, things grew quickly into a 24-person operation in the heart of our city. Today, we work closely with local growers and producers and bake fresh every day from scratch.

How has your business adapted to the current COVID-19 environment and how has your customer reacted?

When COVID-19 hit we had to pivot hard into meal service, creating ready-to-bake dishes and starting delivery services. Our community has completely embraced this as we grow these new streams for our business, and slowly, take out meals are picking back up as people return to work.

What’s your greatest struggle as a business owner right now?

Due to our from-scratch approach, we are a very labour-intensive organization. Reduced foot traffic, reduced catering opportunities and reduced product selection, has made it difficult to meet customer expectations.

Where do you think entrepreneurs should invest their time and money?

We have always made sure that we invest in our staff. Be it through paid mental health days, regular check-ins, introducing a "fair pay" policy to ensure everyone can cover life's expenses, extended health benefits and more, we believe in looking after our staff.

What keeps you inspired and working every day?

Community! Knowing that we can work in a sustainable way with our community to help our community keeps us going. We have felt supported as they try new products, send us words of encouragement and continue to make us part of their grocery run.

Get in touch with Chez Angela Bakery and Café by following @_Chez_Angela_ on Instagram.