A near-century-old Vancouver bakery is leaving its longtime Kitsilano location.
Many locals have a soft spot for Notte's Bon Ton bakery– one of the oldest bakeries in the city.
It was established in 1926 with an original location on Granville Street. Now in the Kitsilano neighbourhood, the family-run business is still a go-to for pastries, cakes, and other artisan-style baked goods.
The old-school European establishment is known for its popular Diplomat Cake, as well as the haunted dolls in the bakery window. There is also a small spot for tea service inside.
The legacy business has been up for sale off and on since 2020 and, three years later, many customers suspect it may be closing for good.
The current owner of Notte's Bon Ton confirmed with V.I.A. on April 5 that the bakery isn't actually closing, but rather it is closing at its current location.
"The rent was not feasible for us and therefore we decided that maybe we need to go somewhere," says the owner Kam Dhamrait.
Dhamrait has been running the bakery at 3150 West Broadway for over 30 years and wants to keep the Kitsilano gem in the neighbourhood. She tells V.I.A. that although she can't reveal where the new location will be, she's looking at several locations near West 3rd and West 4th streets.
On April 18, Bon Ton Pastry's owner shared location closure details on Instagram:
"Our last day of service will be Saturday, April 22nd. We will only be taking Diplomat Cake orders. All other baked goods are first come first serve[d] at the bakery."
Dhamrait added: "We will keep you posted with new location updates soon!"
However, once Notte's Bon Ton relocates it won't reopen until sometime in the fall, the owner tells V.I.A.
'There was no way I was going to see this beautiful bakery shut down'
Before taking over the business, Dhamrait was once a loyal customer of the bakery.
"I was a customer for over 40 years. I walked in during the holiday season coming in to pick up all my goodies. I walked in and it was an absolute disaster in here. I looked around and I said 'oh my goodness, what's going on? What happened to the Bon Ton?'" shares Dhamrait.
After two sleepless nights, she decided to buy the bakery.
"Blindly, my family and I took over the bakery and got it up and running again just to save it because there was no way I was going to see this beautiful bakery shut down," she says.
Dhamrait is also a fashion designer who owns the Show Off boutique on Main Street. When she took over Notte's Bon Ton she put her boutique business on pause for two years just to bring the bakery back to what Vancouverites knew and loved.
This article was originally published on April 5, 2023 and has since been updated with additional reporting by Lindsay William-Ross
