On a midweek morning at Glamorgan Bakery there’s a steady line of customers picking up cakes, strudels, sausage rolls, swirly meringues or bags of cheese buns (arguably, the bakery’s most beloved baked good). Three young children are pressed up against the display case, trying to choose a treat from the tidy rows of cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal, and ones studded with toffee bits or brightly iced shapes. The scene is timeless, which is exactly what owner Jannette Nauta wants. For more than 40 years, the only thing that has changed at Glamorgan is the amount of space it takes up in the strip mall at the corner of Richmond Road and 37th Street S.W.
Through economic booms and busts, the rise of specialty diets and the fervour to find the next Instagram-famous baked good, many things have changed since Don Nauta and his then-business partner Rudy Bootsma opened Glamorgan’s doors in 1977. But the Nauta family, which continues to run the bakery, isn’t as interested in what has changed, as what hasn’t. “What hasn’t changed is people still appreciate baked from scratch,” says Jannette.
As lead baker, Don is still committed to real ingredients and zero shortcuts. Those cheese buns? They remain as addictive today as ever because of the real aged cheddar and butter. “Butter is butter, that’s the key,” says Jannette with a laugh. (Glamorgan, on average, makes about 1,200 dozen cheese buns per week.)
Customer service remains personal — the ringing phone is answered by a real person. And you won’t see any food delivery services offering Glamorgan baked goods. The Nautas refuse to participate out of concern that a customer will order something they’re already out of for the day.
As other bakeries have honed focus, expanded their locations (only to then scale back and close them) or moved to wholesale, Glamorgan has stood its ground. “We chose the niche of a traditional bakery,” Jannette says, a decision she believes underpins Glamorgan’s continued success.
19, 3919 Richmond Rd. S.W., 403-242-2800, glamorganbakery.com
