Even going the legal 25 miles per hour along Main Street in the Uptown Village neighborhood in Vancouver, you might still miss Je T'aime Bakery. Tucked between Main Street Auto care and The Urban Eccentric, Je T'aime may be hard to spot – however, its owners still hope to make their mark on the local food scene.
According to co-founder Cinamon Miller, Je T'aime pays homage to Seattle's Pike Place Market. In an attempt to recreate the historic shopping district's feel, the bakery's storefront is mostly occupied by a rolling security door, which when opened, allows customers to see almost the entire bread-baking process, from tables coated in dust to giant ovens producing loafs, pastries and baguettes.
Founded last October by Miller, a chef at nearby La Bottega, and Claire Ghormley, co-owner of another Main Street eatery, Mon Ami, the bakery is the beneficiary of years of experience in a tough industry.
According to Miller, the duo hoped to fill the homemade bread market left largely empty since the closure of Main Street Bakery nearly two years ago.
"No one was filling that gap," Miller said. "There was a lot of need for a bakery."
So far, the business has barely been able to keep up with demand, according to Ghormley, with Je T'aime sometimes running out of bakery items well before their 6 p.m. closing time. "Lots of places worry about lack of customers. We are focusing on not growing too quickly," Ghormley said.
This demand keeps the owners, as well as three full-time employees, busy well before the morning sun beckons customers to this sidewalk establishment. According to Miller, the bakery's working day starts at midnight, when the opening shift begins baking the bread for the forthcoming day. By the time the store opens at 8 a.m., the bread is ready to be sold.
"This allows us to have a fresh supply and whatever leftovers we have we donate to a local charity," Miller said.
Aside from walk-ups and charitable giving, Ghormley says the business also focuses on wholesaling to local businesses. Currently six businesses use Je T'aime for their bread needs, including the owners' other Main Street homes, La Bottega and Mon Ami, as well as The Atrium and Pop Culture in Vancouver. However, Ghormley says they are done expanding their wholesale business for a while, at least until they get their current customer base in order and finish a planned expansion of their business.
During last year's mayoral election, Ghormley spoke out in favor of then Councilmember Tim Leavitt's mayoral bid, pushing for what she called a "simplification" of the city's permitting process for new Vancouver businesses. According to Je T'aime's owners, permitting issues have kept the bakery from expanding its storefront so that it is more in line with adjacent businesses.
"It shouldn't be this hard to do this," Ghormley said, referring to opening a business in Vancouver.
Permit issues aside, things are looking pretty good at Je T'aime – and if people keep coming back for more, Ghormley says everything will continue to go smoothly.
"The only thing we are worried about is people starting diets," she said.
