Old Town Bakery's famous cinnamon buns come in nine flavours everyday and are one of the most talked-about food items on Vancouver Island. (submitted photo/Ashley Marston Photography)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

WORLD FAMOUS BUNS

Signature Dish: Old Town Bakery’s cinnamon buns

Apr 2, 2021 | 10:49 AM

NANAIMO — Ladysmith is known for many things however its most famous claim to fame might be Old Town Bakery and their world-famous cinnamon buns.

The pillowy-soft, generously iced, flavour-packed bakery bombs are usually the first thing locals recommend trying when visiting the central Island.

Kate Cram, one of the family owners of Old Town Bakery, said a Victoria newspaper in 2004 declared their cinnamon buns the Island’s best, sparking a flood of guests which hasn’t stopped.

“They’ve grown in variety and flavours over the years, we now do nine flavours a day and a special flavour each month. In 2016, we doubled our seating and production capacity by taking over the suite next to us.”

Cram’s family took over the bakery in 2002 and began offering their soon-to-be famous cinnamon buns. The idea came from Cram’s childhood.

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“We used to travel down to San Diego each summer and stopping at Cinnabon in the rest stops used to be our favourite thing. After finishing cooking school and doing the baking programs, I wanted to recreate something that was as magical that I felt when I was younger for our clientele here.”

The buns have become synonymous with the bakery.

“It magically just kind of grew itself. When you look at our analytics, it’s ‘Ladysmith bakery’ or ‘Ladysmith cinnamon buns’ is what we’re searched most for. It’s pretty amazing it’s grown and become something people travel quite a bit of distance to eat.”

The nine flavours change over time with special buns rolled out through the year. When the Sonic the Hedgehog movie was filming, the bakery did a hazelnut hedgehog cinnamon bun.

Canada Day typically gets a maple walnut bun while one of the best sellers, peanut butter-cream cheese, came through a suggestion from a friend who had one while in Australia.

Cram said the first shift at the bakery starts around 3 a.m. in order to get the cinnamon buns and other products made from scratch in time for opening at 7:30 a.m. Follow-up shifts begin at 7 a.m. and a third wave begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday’s.

“We use a lot of eggs, a lot of cream cheese but we always say our secret ingredient is love. Everyone who works here has to be passionate about what they do and really love what they do because that really shines in the product we make and I think that’s part of the reason the cinnamon buns are so successful.”

Cram said it’s not uncommon for them to go through over 1,000 cinnamon buns on a Saturday.

The bakery produces much more than their famous treat. Custom cakes and a full selection of muffins, scones and danishes fill out their display case.

Fresh baked breads are stacked on wall shelves with the bakery also offering a range of breakfast and lunch items including soups and sandwiches.

During COVID-19 shutdowns in 2020, the bakery leaned heavily on meal preparation as a way to get them and their clients through the first days of the pandemic.

They made 700 meal kits over the Easter period for people to pre-order and share over video chat. Cram said it was a way for the bakery to stand with their customers during a difficult time.

“In the summer we’re really busy with tourists and the local clientele sometimes has a hard time getting in and doing their stuff but they’ve supported us so well and we wouldn’t be here doing this without them.”

Old Town Bakery is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday at 510 1st Ave.

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Signature Dish is brought to you by Island Savings – A Division of First West Credit Union, learn more at https://www.islandsavings.ca/.

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