Soft classics, Sinatra, Fitzgerald, and Armstrong mix with the sound of the bustling kitchen of Butter Block & Co. Scents of savoury breads and sweet pastries hang in the air. Bakers weave their way past one another, from the oven to the fridge. Landing at their various workstations to roll, knead, and craft the next hot ticket pastry. Karen Kong, baker and owner of the shop, is at the centre of this kitchen-organized-chaos.
Many coffee shops in Calgary and nationwide don’t bake their goods in-house. They source from wholesale bulk bakeries to save time and money. One Calgary bakery has been making wholesale into a personal and caring business for the past six years. It is putting effort into connecting and growing alongside the Calgary community of local coffee shops.
“It’s really cool to work with a local business, where you see their owner and you see how much they care about their product and local products,” said Kong.
Kong is the owner and mastermind behind Butter Block & Co., a bakery tucked away in a historic building on 17th Avenue.
Working in the culinary industry for the past two decades, Kong always shares goodies with friends.
One such friend was the owner of Monogram Coffee, a beloved local Calgary chain. They encouraged Kong not just to share but also to sell her baking to them.
“I know if they sell my scone there, they want it to be the best that they can find in Calgary,” said Kong.
Deciding it was time to branch out on her own, Butter Block & Co. wholesale bakery was born.
Kong gained experience opening restaurants for companies like Teatro, ahead of her individual debut—but running her own business, with her own money still had its initial challenges.
“It’s like going grocery shopping with your parents, as opposed to grocery shopping by yourself,” said Kong.
Butter Block & Co. gained success by supplying all of Monogram’s pastries and confectionaries.
“When people eat, they share, they talk about it,” said Kong “Slowly everybody’s talking about the pastries at Monogram, so owners of other cafes were like, ‘Where are you getting these’?”
Other coffee shops got curious, and demand for her wholesale baking grew, but it didn’t stop there. Being tantalized daily by the smell of the bakery below, neighbours in her building began asking if they could buy smaller quantities of baked goods.
“I was like ‘Why aren’t I opening my doors and taking transactions?’” said Kong
So the shop counter, Butterblock Cafe, was opened. Instead of a faceless supplier, Kong welcomed the public into her own brick-and-mortar bakery.
“I come here probably too much, but I never want to miss a Taste-run Tuesday,” said a Butter Block & Co. customer.
Although she likes the methodical, structured chaos of baking pastries, Kong also loves to experiment. Noticing a missing piece in her business, Kong wanted to find a way to introduce her customers to new and exciting pastries and flex her creativity.
“Yes I have banana loaf but, have you tried this? And once they try it they’re like, ‘Oh my god yes’,” said Kong
Taste-run Tuesday introduces a new baked good to the growing loyal fanbase each week.
“I needed more work, and I needed to bring all these ideas I had onto my menu. Finally, I realized I should test batch something and sell it. It would cover the cost and people can give me their honest feedback on the spot.”
If the pastry doesn’t do well, Kong and her team move on to the next idea.
“There’s endless ideas coming out, that’s what’s best about Tuesday test runs.”
Kong’s most buzzworthy test to date was a croissant the size of a human head. Kong’s business partner and husband thought up the challenge and idea, which has taken the Calgary food scene by storm.
But Kong’s personal favourite is her homage to a Montreal classic, the Everything Bagel Croissant.
In the coming months, even customers will be able to think outside the box. Butter Block & Co. is creating a wall for everyone to post their baking ideas, with the chance to inspire the next sensational bake