Carmen Paul isn鈥檛 just happy with her work these days.聽 In fact, she鈥檚 realizing something she has always wanted.
鈥淭his is the dream!聽 I鈥檓 actually living the dream!鈥� she said.聽 鈥淎s much as I鈥檓 only getting five hours of sleep at night, all the physical labor, my body hurts and I鈥檓 exhausted, this is the dream; to open a bakery.鈥�
Carmen reopened the doors of the Outlook Bakery on Tuesday, June 20 after the building sat closed for a number of years.聽 Since opening up, the NAIT-trained baker said business has been consistent, and she was happy to see things work out in her favor.
鈥淓verything just worked,鈥� said Carmen.聽 鈥淚 saw the ad on Kijiji last fall and made some inquiries, and I didn鈥檛 think funding was going to work, but everything just fell into place!鈥�
Paul soon found out that baking enthusiasts in Outlook haven鈥檛 forgotten those that came before her.
鈥淭he interesting thing I find is that it鈥檚 been closed for a number of years, but everybody seems to remember Ed (Li, former bakery owner),鈥� she said.聽 鈥淚 actually met with him, and he鈥檚 pretty cool.鈥�
Right now, the offerings at the bakery are becoming popular, and Carmen is busy planning the rest of her menu.
鈥淧izza buns are becoming a staple, and sweet buns come in lemon, strawberry or chocolate,鈥� she said.聽 鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be focaccia daily, which has been flying off the shelves, which is great.聽 There鈥檚 also going to be rye, 60% whole wheat, and raisin bread, as well as cinnamon twists.聽 Those are the standards right now, and pies when I have time to do them.鈥�
For the last few years, Paul had been doing farmer鈥檚 markets as well as special order items such as wedding cakes through her home-based baking service, Serving Serendipity.聽 When she realized her dream of taking over the reins of an iconic Outlook location in order to establish her own bakery, it came with its own workload before the doors could even open.
鈥淚 did about a month鈥檚 worth of renovations,鈥� she said.聽 鈥淚t鈥檚 an old building that was two years vacant, so there was dust.聽 And when you have a deep fryer running all the time, there鈥檚 grease on everything, and then there was dust ON the grease, so everything had to be scraped down.鈥�
Right now, it鈥檚 just Carmen behind the scenes, though she has plans to have some help arrive soon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty much just me right now, though my mother came out and helped for the first few days of opening, and I have a friend who I trained at NAIT with who鈥檚 going to be coming and helping out,鈥� she said.
As for what else is going to be offered at the bakery, Carmen says she wants to satisfy Outlook鈥檚 sweet tooth.
鈥淧ies are actually my thing,鈥� she said.聽 鈥淭he problem with them is that they鈥檙e very time-consuming, so I鈥檇 like to focus on those a lot more, but I鈥檒l need to wait until I鈥檓 in a position to have the staff to help me in the back.聽 I鈥檓 trying to appease the sweet tooth of the town.聽 Prior to opening up, a lot of business people I talked to said it鈥檚 all about the savories (such as breads), and other people are looking for sweets, so I鈥檓 focusing on that a bit more.鈥�
At the moment, Carmen is busy finding her groove in this new venture, but she hopes to be able to host a grand opening event in the near future once the proverbial kinks have been worked out.
鈥淚鈥檓 asking for a lot of patience as I get things going,鈥� she said.聽 鈥淭his is more of a soft opening instead of a grand opening.聽 I think that when I have a routine and some staff, I鈥檒l do a grand opening event, but that鈥檒l be further down the line.鈥�
You can find the bakery on social media by searching on Facebook for 鈥極utlook Bakery by Serving Serendipity鈥�.
