FREDERICTON -- A New Brunswick bakery recently got a sweet surprise from a fellow Fredericton business.
It was a regular day at Jonathan Ramirez’ Fredericton bakery before a customer made an order that Ramirez couldn’t believe.
“When he was talking to me, I was trying to hold back the tears,” says Ramirez. “I couldn’t believe that some business person thought to do this.”
That business person is Shawn Bordage, who visited MonkeyCakes bakery and asked to buy everything that was on the shelves.
“I asked, ‘How much do you have left in your case?’” recalls Bordage. “So he started counting dozens and I said, ‘I’ll take it all.' He was kind of surprised and I said, 'No seriously, we’ll take everything you have.'"
The order meant a lot for a small Fredericton business, working to keep the doors open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been a tough year for people in my industry,” says Ramirez. “We service the wedding industry and large parties, and corporate events, and those are dried up for at least some time hopefully next year, and that’s a big part of our revenue.”
Bordage, who manages Hawkins Equipment Limited in Fredericton, shared the baked goods with other local businesses.
He says it was part of a kindness competition of sorts to spread treats, good cheer, and give a little financial boost to other entrepreneurs – and what better way celebrate local business than by letting them eat cake?
“It was mainly a few businesses in town that were actually promoting and doing that. They were buying pizzas and different items, so we thought, let’s try to find a smaller business,” says Bordage.
Ramirez shared the story of the sweet sellout on social media, and it whipped up a lot of attention.
“I think the one thing that it’s done for the Fredericton community is it’s made us proud,” says Ramirez. “I keep seeing that word pop up on all the different posts on social media, how proud they are of their community and their town.”
Ramirez says this was his best weekday of sales this year, and that having the gesture come from a fellow small business is the icing on the cake.
