From family roots to flour power: Jeff Strybosch's journey building Kawartha Wholesale Bakery

COLLEEN GREEN The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: What began as a childhood chore has risen, quite literally, into a regional bakery empire. Jeff Stryosch, owner and operator of Kawartha Wholesale Bakery, has spent over 25 years growing his business from a modest 4,500 square-foot space to a booming operation more than twice that size. His roots in baking go much deeper, tracing back to the early 1980s and a family-run bakery on Hwy 36 Lindsay.

"I didn't want to work when I was 11 or 12," Mr. Stryosch recalls with a smile. "But we worked in the bakery on weekends."

His parents owned Peter's Bunstop, which they opened in 1980. Before that, the family was in the landscape and nursery business, growing everything from tomatoes to box plants. But baking became the family's next chapter, and Mr. Stryosch was roped into it early. That early experience proved formative.

After a near-decade stint at Country Style Donuts in Pickering, Mr. Stryosch seized an opportunity to take over a Buns Master Bakery in Lindsay. He gutted the space, sourced equipment from the city, and turned it into something uniquely his own.

"I was doing everything, back and forth to Toronto for pans, racks, anything I could get," he explained. "That first renovation was just the beginning."

Even setbacks didn't slow him down. When his oven broke down just months into opening, and a nearby competitor declined to help, a friend in Orillia let him bake there temporarily.

"I loaded everything pan by pan, drove it to Orillia, baked it at night, and brought it back," Mr. Stryosch said. "Two weeks of that. It was brutal."

Today, Kawartha Wholesale Bakery serves more than just walk-in customers. With two delivery trucks on the road and orders heading out to Haliburton, Port Perry, Fenelon Falls, and beyond, the operation has grown far beyond local.

Mr. Stryosch has formed long-standing partnerships with businesses like

the Trading Post in Port Perry, which remains one of his biggest clients.

Just last year, Mr. Stryosch undertook a renovation which more than

doubled the bakery's footprint. Where there was once a cramped workspace

and external storage trailers, there's now streamlined production, warehousing, and a retail front.

"A year and a half ago, that was just a field," he said, pointing to what is now part of the building. "Now it's over 10,000 square feet."

The expanded space houses massive ovens capable of baking over 300 loaves of bread at a time, a proofing room, a cooking room, and enough dry storage to order 30,000 donut boxes in bulk. The space upgrade has also significantly improved day-to-day operations.

Mr. Stryosch's commitment to efficiency didn't stop at the walls. One of the most visible changes to customers is the new dual-register system.

By separating the bakery from the deli, customers picking up a few buns no longer wait behind sandwich orders.

“We've got one register for the deli and one for the bakery," he said. "Now you can get in and out quicker depending on what you need."

Behind the scenes, Mr. Stryosch is focused on keeping the operation safe and organized. "The bigger you get, the more responsibility you have,"he explained. "You've got to stay on top of food safety, quality, and customer service. That's everything."

While the business is thriving, especially during the summer months when cottagers pour into the Kawarthas, Mr. Stryosch is not one to rest on his laurels. He's recently brought on help to manage social media and is always looking for ways to refine and expand.

“We're busy all year, but July and August are our peak. We want to be ready for it," he said. "And I still have signage and menu updates to do, there's always something."

After decades in the business, Mr. Stryosch remains as committed as ever to making Kawartha Wholesale Bakery a cornerstone of the community and a model for what passion, perseverance, and a whole lot of dough can build. Kawartha Wholesale Bakery is located at 2 Commerce Place, in Lindsay. You can contact them at 705-324-7736.