The 533 Westmorland Road location of the Saint John Bakery is closed permanently, according to a notice posted by the property management company that says the locks had been changed.

The notice comes as the business, which has four locations across the Saint John region, paused operations until further notice at the end of January. The Westmorland Road location was the first of the four, opening in 2020.

Vestis Properties, which manages the building the Westmorland Road location is in, left a note at the business, addressed to Howe.

“We are notifying you that you are in default under the lease between Saint John Bakery Ltd. And Vestis Properties Ltd. For 533 Westmorland Rd. Unit 7, Saint John NB, E2J 2G5 for failure to pay rent and that the landlord has changed the locks. Please contact the office,” it reads.

Rob Connolly is with Lancaster Plaza, where one of the bakery’s other stores is located. He tells Huddle Saint John Bakery is no longer a tenant at the plaza.

“It’s actually closed and I changed the locks,” says Connolly of the 3,500-square-foot location. “As of [February 21].”

He says the location is available for rent and Lancaster Plaza is actively seeking a new tenant. The location had only been in operation since August 2021.

Huddle was unable to confirm the status of Saint John Bakery’s City Market location or of the Village Square Bake Shop in Grand Bay-Westfield, which the Saint John Bakery also owns. Presumably, they remain temporarily closed.

Huddle was unable to reach Saint John Bakery owner Stuart Howe for comment.

In 2021, Huddle reported that Second Cup locations in uptown, East Point, and Quispamsis would be carrying locally made products from Saint John Bakery, including danishes, strudels, and tarts. Most franchises carry goods from a national food program run by the company.

H & S Meats in Quispamsis also carried Saint John Bakery products such as baguettes, sourdough, buns, and multigrain bread.

The Saint John Bakery was also supplying bread to their neighbouring business, Turkish Big Bite Restaurant on Westmorland.

In mid-June 2022 the bakery opened a location inside the Saint John City Market, where it had ambitious plans to have a retail section plus a large glass wall for customers to see a full production bakery.

The location opened in the midst of controversy after an existing bakery with a 20-year history at the market, the Baking Stone, was impeded by red tape from selling. Potential lease transfers for market businesses require approval by Saint John Common Council, and in the end, council passed a resolution on March 21 of 2022, terminating the Baking Stone’s lease.

Saint John Bakery owner Howe is a Saint John native whose parents ran the Village Bakery in Grand Bay, which took over. He returned to the region after being an opera singer and working in the wedding entertainment industry in the United States.

Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: grahama@huddle.today.