The Baking Stone will leave the Saint John City Market next month after operating at the same location for 21 years, under owner Vera Bochar.
Bochar says it’s a bittersweet end to her time at the market. She loved the business and her customers but says she was frustrated by market management’s decision to go in another direction when she tried to sell the business upon her retirement.
“When you are self-employed, you’re kind of working 24/7. I’ve worked a lot of years of 70-hour weeks,” recalls Bochar, who recently recovered from her second bout with breast cancer.
Bochar returned to the market last fall after recovering from hip replacement surgery in August. It was a tough decision for Bochar, who had to shutter the business for six weeks while she rehabbed.
“I’ve always been supported by the market — I always included myself in any of the activities that they had,” recalled Bochar. She said the market stepped in during COVID-19 to help out by prorating rent for tenants so they could more easily pay it back over time.
Last November, after keeping the business open through the COVID-19 pandemic, Bochar decided it was time to sell. She had found a buyer anxious to build on The Baking Stone’s success and went to the market to explain the opportunity.
“When an existing business with a current lease wishes to transfer ownership to a new business owner, informal conversations generally occur between those two parties before the City Market is involved,” said David Dobbelsteyn, growth manager with the City of Saint John.
“The Market works with the vendor and the prospective tenant to complete a thorough evaluation of the new vendor’s business plan, financial viability, product offering, experience or skills, and timing of a transfer,” he explained.
Owner of The Baking Stone Vera Bochar and her son, Paul. Image: The Baking Stone on Facebook
He added that any potential lease transfers for market businesses also require approval by Saint John Common Council.
Bochar recalls waiting much longer than she anticipated for the market to get back to her about her proposed sale. When she finally did hear back, the response wasn’t what she expected.
“What I then heard from them was that they had a new strategic plan deemed for the City Market going forward and they told me that The Baking Stone was not part of that plan—and that it seems like the products that I sell are not compatible with what their strategic plan going forward was,” said Bochar. “They said to me they wanted a 100 percent scratch bakery.”
Frustration and long waits over sale
Bochar said the decision confused her because no one had ever approached her to ask how she baked the store’s goods or what mix of products she had. She wondered how the market determined The Baking Stone wouldn’t be part of its plans going forward.
She said market management told her she could move into a smaller location across from her current home.
“Because they had plans for the space that didn’t include me,” she said.
That was a problem, however, because her buyer wasn’t interested in the smaller space.
She said her only other option was to find another buyer in 30 days. Boucher says that only increased her frustration because she had already waited through four months of negotiations with the market on the future of her space.
“I had the option to sell [but] I had to change the closing date three times to accommodate the fact that they were taking 16 weeks to come to me,” Bochar said.
An appeal to council
With her time running short on securing a buyer, Bochar wrote a letter to Mayor and Common Council.
In her March 23 letter, Bochar said many other businesses in the City Market had already sold unimpeded. She asked for a new, five-year lease that would let her sell the business to a new owner who would continue running it at the same location.
But Saint John council had already reviewed the matter. In a resolution, passed in open session March 21, it terminated The Baking Stone’s lease, effective May 1.
“After twenty years at the City Market, the Baking Stone has chosen not to sign a new lease agreement with the city,” read the executive summary. “In recognition of the long-term tenancy of the Baking Stone and due to the impacts from COVID-19, the City has waived all outstanding arrears owing by the vendor.”
Bochar says her business has been operating in the market space for some time on a holdover lease, paying rent on a month-to-month basis.
“I don’t know why they never come back to me to sign a lease but I just keep paying the rent and I don’t really worry about that,” Bochar said.
She said the “outstanding arrears” the city referenced were the remaining rent for The Baking Stone for February, March, and April, which was good-willed through the remainder of the lease. They also included anything accrued from prorated rent amounts from COVID-19 relief. The total amount was $5,310.85.
The council summary concluded by stating that “the City will work diligently to attract a new vendor to this incredible space in the historic City Market.”
Dobbelsteyn told Huddle in a March 28 email that “all City Market tenants are independently owned and operated businesses.”
“Different situations require individual review and attention to meet the needs of both the vendor and the City Market. The City Market follows standard practices and due diligence in evaluating all requests,” he said.
He added that the city market “followed standard practices and due diligence in evaluating the request for this lease transfer” adding the city doesn’t comment on confidential discussions with specific vendors.
Steering Committee crafting strategic plan
Saint John created a City Market Strategic Plan Steering Committee last fall. Dobbelsteyn confirmed the committee has met three times and will continue meeting on a four-to-six-week schedule until November.
Tasked with coming up with a 10-year City Market Strategic Plan, the committee, along with city staff and consultants, will be conducting public engagement on the market’s ongoing strategic plan throughout April. A first draft of its plan should be completed later this summer.
Dobbelsteyn added that the right mix of vendors is critical to the success and vibrancy of the City Market.
“It is the cultural centre of Saint John,” he wrote, “And we strive to ensure a wide range of diverse vendors and offerings that appeal to both locals and visitors.”
Saint John Councillor Gerry Lowe sits on the City Market Strategic Plan Steering Committee along with Mayor Donna Reardon.
Last week, Lowe told Huddle he didn’t believe Bochar’s lease issue was ever explained to the steering committee but that he had talked with her personally.
“I guess I could say that as a small business owner for years in Saint John, I hate to see something like this come up, especially in a city-owned building,” said Lowe.
Bochar, meanwhile, says she spoke with the mayor and the city manager about her situation but that “nothing happened from the top-down.”
A farewell to customers
Bochar hopes to see the market enjoy full tenancy again, even if it means without The Baking Stone.
She will continue making product until the end of April and, while it’s not the exit from the market she was hoping for, she’s grateful for the customers she’s had over the years.
“I’m collecting money for Ukraine for the humanitarian relief, because I am Ukrainian, and they have been extremely generous. I can’t say that enough: people are so kind in Saint John and I will definitely miss them,” she said.
“I’m so sorry that I could not provide them with new owners that could take the next step and provide them with what they’d known to love and expect for me and build on it.”
She said she’d love to see The Baking Stone’s intellectual property, recipes, or brand still succeed for someone else in Saint John.
“I would like nothing more than to see someone take that forward somewhere. And if someone approached me I would be more than willing to share recipes with them,” said Bochar. “It’s been a success for me and I know it can be a tremendous success for someone else.”
“But just my age and what I’ve been through, I just want to hang out with my grandkids and not have to worry.”
Tyler Mclean is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
