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Building a Thriving Business in Pictou County
Tucked away on Foord St. in Stellarton is a new bakery quickly rising in popularity.
Since opening in January, Birgir Robertsson’s bakery, The Little Pastry House, has quickly gained a loyal following. The consensus is the same among locals and folks trickling in from the city: The Little Pastry House offers mighty good treats.
Robertsson has owned bakeries in Ontario, Manitoba, and now Nova Scotia, where he has thought of moving to for some time. He’s been developing his baking skills since he was a young boy growing up in Iceland. It wasn’t until he moved to Canada that he picked it back up, seeing an opportunity for himself.
His previous businesses were larger scale bakeries equipped with larger kitchens and storefronts. While that business model worked for him then, he’s intentionally keeping this bakery small.
“My plan was always to have it small,” he said. “This is my last place.”
He bakes recipes collected throughout his life in Iceland and from his time working in bakeries around the world. He prepares his tasty recipes in small batches, baking everything from pastries and cinnamon buns to cookies and kleina.
“You pick up the best recipes in each new place,” he said. His recipes have earned him great praise. Some have commented on the excellent product quality while others claim regular customer status after their first visit.
As the bakery wraps up half a year in business, Robertsson can’t believe the positive response. “You always think it will be busy in the beginning, but its still crazy busy now,” he said.
Robertssons bakery is open Friday to Sunday, the rest of the week spent preparing. He was selling out before noon in the first 6 months. Now, his shelves are empty before 11 a.m.
“I am grateful to the community,” said Robertsson. “Everybody welcomes you.”
Though he’s spent majority of his lifetime working solitary jobs, Robertsson loves people. Seeing the same, and new, faces week after week fills him with great joy. He greets his customers with a wide smile that confirms he truly is happy to be here doing what he’s doing.
“When you have your own business, you start to know the community better,” he said.
The tight-knit community aspect that comes from smaller towns is something Robertsson sees great value in. He’s thankful to call a small-town home.
“I’m very lucky to have chosen this place,” he said. “When you open businesses in big cities, you have to advertise it. But small towns, the word gets out.”
While his small-scale bakery vision remains, Robertsson has begun exploring the idea of offering up his bakery’s kitchen and small store front to other local bakers to prepare and sell their products.
“I really like the idea of fusing bakers together,” he said. “We’re all baking different things. I’d like to help each other.”
Starting your own business can seem daunting, but Robertsson knows it doesn’t have to be. “I would tell anyone wanting to start a business in Pictou County to speak with The Partnership,” he said.
Out of everywhere in Canada, Robertsson chose Pictou County to live and run his final bakery. As he said in our conversation, there’s nowhere quite like it. Between the entrepreneurial potential, proximity to great outdoor spaces and the city, the County is a special place that has allowed The Little Pastry House to flourish.
Check out The Little Pastry House here.
Published June 2023