'After all these years': Christies Mayfair Bakery celebrates 90th anniversary
When Ennio Muzzolini walked into Christies Mayfair Bakery in 1965 interested in purchasing the small bakery on 33rd Street, he never imagined he’d one day be looking on as hundreds of people lined the block to get their hands on a baguette, cinnamon bun or wood-fired pizza.
Back then he was just trying to keep the business afloat.
“How can I explain it?” he said at the bakery’s 90th anniversary celebrations Saturday.
“We had no money, we didn’t know anything. I knew that I could work, but in the very beginning we had some hard times. We survived. We made it and we appreciate what the people have done for us.”
Saturday marked the company’s street party, where entertainment, pizza and plenty of other baked goods delighted the many dozens of customers.
Muzzolini bought the bakery from the Christies brothers, who originally opened the bakery in 1932.
“Unbelievable. After all these years I don’t believe it. What else can I say?” he said, looking at the all the people who came to celebrate. “It’s awesome.”
Ninety years later, the family business now run by Tracy and Blair Muzzolini, Ennio’s children, rung in the milestone with a street party fit for a Saskatoon staple that has grown to mean so much to many in the area.
“Our family, our friends, our staff, we’re hard working people. We work together to solve problems, we preserve and we overcome – and that’s why we’re here today,” Tracy said.
With endless stories of multi-decade and even multi-generation customers, the family never gets tired of hearing about customers that met at Christies during a first date or people who only trust the Muzzolini’s with all the baking for every special occasion.
More than anything, the Muzzolini’s love going to work every day.
“Making bread, making pastries, making pizza is one of my favourite things, and the people that come together to work for us and work with us share the same passion for good food,” Tracey said.
While it may be easy to look ahead to the next 90 years, Tracey knows the same approach is required that got Christies to its 90th year anniversary if it hopes to stand the test of time.
“Just think of every hurdle as just another problem to solve because that’s really what it adds up to is just a bunch of problem solving day after day … and just take it day by day,” Tracey said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.