Tofino business profile: The Common Loaf Bake shop - A Tofino Institution
by Shirley Langer, Tofino
We people of Tofino cannot be easily categorized. There are simply
all kinds, and even some who defy description. It is possible, however,
to divide the populace of Tofino into two broad groups regarding their
preference for the staff of life: those who eat bread baked with bleached
white flour, and those who wouldn’t be caught dead with a loaf
under their arm containing anything less than three unbleached grains,
preferably grains of ancient origin. These latter folk frequent The
Common Loaf Bake Shop.
The Common Loaf is more than a bakery. It is a gathering place, where
regulars philosophize, exchange useful information and the latest rumours,
or just shoot the breeze during coffee klatches. Travelers sit dreamily
over tea or coffee, writing postcards, while the more earnest ones
log the wonders of Clayoquot Sound in travel journals. Just the approach
to the bakery alerts you that this is not a conventional place. Clientele
gathered on the patio ranges from the town loafers and serious drinking
companions to the most upright establishment, all intermingling over
coffee and The Loaf’s famous cheese or cinnamon buns. The dress
is colourful and alternative, reflecting Tofino’s independence
from style fashionistas. No matter what your fashion persuasion though,
the common leveler in Tofino is fleece. But clothing is too prosaic
a term to describe the mix of garments on view, garments which run
the gamut of grunge, hip, faux gypsy, latter-day hippy, punk exotica
and the straight-laced. Hair, if not shaved off completely, might be
dyed every hue possible or encouraged to twist into impressive dreadlocks.
There is one thing no customer at The Loaf can afford to be casual
about, and that’s the crows. The crows that congregate around
the bakery have eagle eyes. The minute you abandon your table to refill
your coffee cup or decide you must have a chocolate brownie, a crow
will make off with whatever is left on your table. I have seen tourists
rush in gesticulating and babbling in many tongues about crows stealing
their food. Their dismay is inevitably met with a sympathetic shrug
and advice about leaving someone on guard next time
The only constant about The Common Loaf is its quirkiness. Take the
staff. Eclectic would be an understatement. No previous experience
is required. There is no dress code. Nor do there seem to be any
standards to adhere to. Everyone must sell bread, take cash, take orders,
serve the food, clear tables, wash and replace dishes, keep the coffee
coming, clean up messes and keep on smiling. In fact, there are only
two criteria that must be met in order to keep a job at The Common
Loaf Bake Shop: one, show up, and two, be useful in at least one specific
way. While such quirkiness can leave much to be desired by way of too
much puddled coffee on the tables and no spoons at the coffee bar all
too often, it nevertheless produces a unique atmosphere.
Maureen Fraser is the proprietor and grace that facilitates all the
creative chaos that swirls around her establishment. She arrived in
the area as a ‘60s hippy when the beaches swelled with hundreds
wanting to live free from convention in beach shacks constructed on
the slopes of the headlands. When all the hippy folk were evicted from
the beaches by the formation of Pacific Rim National Park, Maureen,
like so many others, rolled down the road to Tofino. Eventually Maureen
opened the first Common Loaf Bake Shop just up the street from the
Co-Op Hardware Store.
Never one to hold back her opinions about clear-cut logging of Clayoquot
Sound’s ancient forest, the media would seek out Maureen’s
opinion when there was controversy or a blockade. Our kaffee klatch
happened to be there when she was being interviewed for tv while she
prepared the mix for a Seven Layers To Hell cake. She must have been
more intent on the interview than the recipe because she forgot to
turn the blender speed down before adding the flour. Suddenly, flour
was flying everywhere and the interview came to an hilarious end.
Over the years Tofino has changed, as things must. The village has
grown; there’s even a four-way stop street, and Tofitians now
include espresso, latte and cappuccino in their coffee repertoire.
Some things change, but the line up at lunch still spills out The Common
Loaf Bakery door and onto the patio. And look out! the crows still
wait to seize the day and your cheese buns.
Shirley Langer describes
herself as a woman about town with a well developed civic consciousness.