The Kootenay Bakery Cafe Cooperative

I remember this place was once really good (1990’s), but has really lost their edge and their prices are ridiculous. Can’t even be bothered to go into detail.

Came in here for a beef pot pie that was featured on a sign board outside. It did not disappoint. Pot pie was medium sized, served piping hot with ground beef and veggies inside. Crust was light and flakey. At almost $ 10 it is pretty expensive but it sure hit the spot for breakfast. Rest of the bakery is bright and colourful (mainly yellow and orange). They have many other offerings from pies to cakes to loaves of bread. Will definitely stop by again for something when in the area.

The most delicious spelt bagel and herb cream cheese you will ever have. Also tried the pecan cinnamon bun which was fantastic, my husband said the pecan topping was «like pralines on steroids». The chocolate croissant has ensured that I never enjoy another from elsewhere again; so flaky and light with an enjoyable chocolate filling that’s not too sweet.

The Kootenay Bakery Café Cooperative is an organic scratch bakery that focuses on producing food that is wholesome, healthy, and delicious. These buns are neither wholesome nor healthy, but they are certainly delicious.
Like many businesses in this amazing little mountain town, the co-​op makes baked goods for all types of alternative diets, including gluten-​free, dairy-​free, wheat-​free, egg-​free, and meat-​free. You can get spelt anything here — from bagels to hot dog buns to pizza dough — and there is always a tantalizing array of treats in their display case. My favourite are these soft, sticky cinnamon buns. Their tofu sandwich and pizza are also great.

I saw this place listed as gluten-​free friendly, so I’d hoped for some kind of savoury baked product. When I asked what was gluten-​free and savoury, I was shown the hash browns… the one and only option. Apparently if I’d been willing to have a cookie for breakfast, there were two options, and they make a GF bread on Thursdays.
That in itself would have been fine… I know it’s hard to do gluten-​free. BUT, the server was downright rude about my request, snarkily saying ‘you won’t find any savoury gluten-​free products anywhere in town’. Disappointed in the service and as a result, will never return.

If you can handle unsupervised kids running around almost constantly you’ll love this place. Best chocolate croissants in BC! Lots of great breakfast and lunch options and very friendly servers. This place is always busy so if you happen to be walking by and it’s not then stop in!

Besides the completely unoriginal name (why are so many businesses in Nelson so unimaginatively named Kootenay _​_​_​_​_​, or Kutenai _​_​_​_​_​? C’mon folks, you can do better), I like almost everything about this place. The baked goods are amazing (try the cheddar bagel, the sourdough bread, or any of the pastries), and the staff is friendly and helpful and they all seem to really love what they are doing. They also sell really good frozen pizza dough. (I cannot recommend the spelt pizza dough, however. I tried it once, and like most everything made with spelt (or buckwheat, or amaranth, or millet, or insert-​the-​latest-​trendy-​grain-​here, it tastes like soggy cardboard.)
The only other thing I don’t like about this place is that it is always so crowded (which, I guess, is a testament to the fact that it’s a great place to eat). It’s not just crowded, though. It is crowded with young, unemployed mothers who travel in packs with an average of 3.4 kids each hanging off of them or strapped to them with some overpriced organic hemp baby wrap (have you ever heard of a stroller, or daycare?). It is very difficult to find a table in here in which you won’t be bothered by «free-​spirit» hippy Waldorf kids, whose parents have no clue what boundaries or decorum are. These kids are in desperate need of some video games, TV, and good old-​fashioned cowboys and indians outside. Why do you need to drag your poor kids all over Baker street while you chit-​chat about attachment parenting with your unemployed-​mom friends, meanwhile ignoring your kids as they are forced to annoy me out of sheer boredom? Next time, drop them off at the sitter while you meet your friends for lunch, or better yet, get a job like the rest of us and bring your lunch — it’s much more economical and may help defray some of the costs of daycare. Your kids will thank you for it in 18 years.