6 minute read
LENJO BAKES: A LOVE LETTER TO MIDTOWN
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AHRENS ST W
WELLINGTON ST N
KITCHENER
LENJO BAKES:
A LOVE LETTER TO ‘MIDTOWN’
WORDS BY DANI KUEPFER; PHOTOS BY CHRIS TIESSEN
I love when people share personal stories about what lights them up. I could linger in these inspiring conversations for hours. Case in point: it’s a sunny Tuesday afternoon in June, and Lenore Johnson and I have been chatting on the charming, wood-framed front porch of her Kitchener bakery for what feels like only minutes. But when her staff begin to trickle out and bid us farewell, I realize we might have got a little swept up in the story of ‘LenJo’ – and of her wonderful culinary destination of the same name. To be fair, it’s a good one. Allow me to set the stage.
After months of to-the-studs renovations, Lenore opened what was to be her dream bakery, LenJo Bakes, on Valentine’s Day of 2020. Less than a month before March of 2020. You all know where this story is going. But first, let me back up several years.
Newly graduated with a degree in mathematics and poised for a cushy office career, Lenore woke up one day with the feeling that something else was calling her. Baking beautiful cakes and sweet things for the people she loved had long been in her repertoire, so it wasn't a stretch for her to embark on the study of culinary arts. And so she started at George Brown College and, before long, found herself studying pâtisserie in France, and then in London, where she trained as a pastry chef at various Michelin Star restaurants and fivestar hotels. (Fun fact: Lenore’s talents in the kitchen ‘paid’ her way through some of these travels as she traded fresh-baked cinnamon
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buns for a roof over her head on more than one occasion.) A few years later, she would open her own pop-up cakery on a small island in New Zealand, and then, eventually, pack up her pans and return to Kitchener to plant roots with a bricks and mortar shop: LenJo Bakes.
Located at the corner of Ahrens and Wellington Streets in what’s become known as Kitchener’s ‘Midtown’ neighbourhood, the bakery space is truly a wonderful expression of Lenore’s dream manifested into reality. It’s a wonderfully-minimalist spot where the windows are massive, plants hang from every conceivable corner of the space, children’s artwork (gifts from Lenore’s youngest customers) is proudly mounted centre stage, and the large white wall behind the main counter is punctuated by whimsical illustrations of muffins, cakes, mixers, aprons, spatulas, rolling pins and other baker-centric icons. In the centre of this wall: the LenJo logo – simple, clean, perfect. The artist behind all of the branding: Lenore’s good friend Danielle Joseph (of Function Creative). The cost for Danielle’s talents: a two-tier coconut cake with coconut crémeux and lilac butter cream flowers. So perfectly appropriate.
The bakery wasn’t always this way, though. First, there was March 2020. I’ll spare you the details of how this first year of COVID went for Lenore (and promise not to use the word ‘pivot’) – but I assure you that she worked day and night to keep her dream alive while weddings, birthday parties, and graduations (and the iconic sweets we celebrate them with) came to a crashing halt.
And so, during COVID, cake pans became cookie sheets, and Lenore’s picture-perfect bakery closed its doors and opened a takeout window instead. Her vision of thoughtfullycrafted, delicious cakes to anchor people’s milestones and memories was put on hold while she shifted to more functional baked goods. And then something magical happened – the neighbourhood showed up. The folks
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of Kitchener's ‘Midtown’ welcomed LenJo with open arms: stopping by for their daily coffees, picking up dozens of cookies, and even dropping off homemade soup on cold days. Just a few of the items that these folks clamored for: bourbon peach pop tarts; turtle brownies; ginger molasses cookies; cinnamon rolls. And savoury items too – including rotating focaccia pizzas every Thursday, and brekkie pies every Saturday. Even listing these divine creations has my mouth watering.
That neighbourly love is reciprocated at LenJo, where Lenore brews Smile Tiger coffee from down the street, and stocks Four All’s natural, locally-sourced ice creams. Baking with seasonal fruits and vegetables, she works closely with farms in the area, and often brings her entire staff out on ‘field trips’ to pick the freshest stuff. Yes – her staff. In the just over two years since LenJo opened its doors on the border of Kitchener's historic centre, they’ve grown to a team of eight. If that’s not a testament to the power of community, I don’t know what is.
As gatherings and celebrations return with a vengeance, Lenore is back on track creating wedding cakes and other one-off confections. (In fact, she’s already got orders each weekend from now through December.) Stunning seminaked cakes, sophisticated three-tiered outfits, cake tasting boxes, afternoon tea boxes –
whatever you can dream up, Lenore and her team will help you get there (unless you’re looking for a Baby Shark cake, in which case they can point you in the right direction!). And her 'neighbourhood' has grown since she was invited, earlier this year, to join the panel of judges on the Food Network Canada's 'Wall of Bakers'.
Here’s the icing on the cake for us locals: you can also get LenJo's goods in one of our favourite summertime destinations: St. Jacobs. ‘The Shed’, an outpost of the bakery, is tucked into the corner of King and Spring, in the heart of the village. Hit them up post-Farmer’s Market for baked goods, coffee, and ice cream.
Before I leave, Lenore packs me a bag of treats – fantastic, because I’ve got a couple stops to make on my way home. She wraps up two perfectlysized strawberry hand pies, one for each of my grandmothers. (An aside: this is your sign to show up at your loved ones’ door with handmade pastries.) A couple strawberry-rhubarb ‘pop tarts’ (pink sprinkles and all) that I may or may not share. And my unexpected favourite, the raspberry ‘LenJo Louis’ – the cake-y sandwiches dipped in a chocolate shell, but this version with a fresh raspberry filling and a whole lot of love.
Not everything is rainbows and cupcakes. Sometimes life demands that you pour everything you’ve got into your dream or risk losing it all. As I leave the bakery, Howard Thurman’s words come to my mind: 'Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.'
LENJO BAKES
132 AHRENS ST W IN KITCHENER, lenjobakes.com 125
