Paul’s Bakery is celebrating its 60th year.
Paul Sikkes first opened the bakery on March 1, 1958 shortly after moving to Canada from Holland.
“When I came to Canada I didn’t want to see the inside of a bakery again,” Paul’s son, Theo, said.
Theo started working full time at his father’s bakery in Holland when he was 14 years old.
Despite his initial stance Theo eventually took over the business in 1963.
Theo ran the bakery until his brother and his son, Brian, took the reins in 1986.
Brian’s daughter, Caitlan, like her grandfather before her, swore she would never join the family business; but also like her grandfather, baking was in her blood.
“[My sister and I] were working there since before I could walk,” Caitlan said.
Caitlan and her sister, Brianna, used to take out the garbage or bag buns before elementary school.
Working at the bakery taught them the importance of hard work, Brianna said.
“When you work with your family you work a lot harder,” Brianna said.
“Work ethic travels with you to your other jobs.”
In 2013 Caitlan and her husband Darren McMillan became co-owners of the bakery.
Today, the business is owned by Brian, his wife Sheona, Caitlan and her husband.
Paul’s Bakery products are in more than 10 restaurants across the Bulkley Valley and can be found in Houston, Hazelton and as far away as Iskut and Dease Lake.
Although the times, and even the town, has changed the bakery still uses Paul’s original recipes from Holland.
“I still remember grandpa came in once when I was making custard and [he] tasted it and [he] was like ‘same as when my dad used to make it,’ ” Brianna said.
