Retiring owner Quang Dieu leaves a beloved legacy

By Albert Koehl

The Annex is a great place to live, in part because of local merchants like Quang Dieu. For four decades, including the last three at 460 Bloor Street W. in the Annex, Quang owned and operated the Kensington Natural Bakery and Café.

The bakery, which officially closed its doors on Dec. 31, specialized in products for consumers with particular food needs or interests or dietary restrictions. Quang’s institutional customers included daycares and health-food stores. Gluten-free, organic, keto, vegan, nut-free, and dairy-free were among the offerings that attracted residents from the Annex and beyond. 

Quang’s skills as a baker date back to his youth in Hanoi, Vietnam. Quang had been a lathe operator in a bicycle factory when he realized he could make more money from baked goods. With the support of his family, he opened a small bakery. His customers often brought their own ingredients, which Quang then worked into finished products. But his success as a baker was short-lived. The fact that Quang’s father was born in China made the family untrustworthy in the eyes of the Vietnamese regime which was at war with China (a supporter of the brutal Pol Pot regime in Cambodia). 

Quang’s family, including his nine siblings, fled Vietnam in crowded boats, hence the “boat people” title that was ascribed to them and the hundreds of thousands of other refugees. Quang’s family spent a year in a refugee camp in Hong Kong before Canada allowed them to emigrate here. 

Once in Toronto, Quang quickly got to work as an employee of a Kensington Market bakery. His modest earnings were converted into savings. After only two years, he managed to put aside about $15,000. Among his economies was his mode of transportation: an old bicycle that he had repaired. His plan was to open a laundromat. Instead, he and a business partner started a bakery located in Kensington Market.

By the time the bakery was moved to the Annex in 1991, Quang was the sole owner. The original name of the bakery was retained. Customers at his store knew precisely what they were buying—with carefully listed ingredients—at easily affordable prices. Quang even offered an assortment of vegetarian meals to be enjoyed in the shop or as take-out.

Customers at Quang’s bakery never had to worry about consuming unrecognizable, unpronounceable ingredients or putting on extra weight. His cookies, for example, were only slightly sweetened with maple syrup. He also used honey, barley malt syrup, or berries as sweeteners. Anyone looking for refined sugar or corn syrup would be disappointed.

Quang’s long hours, often alone in the back of the shop where the ovens were located, likely contributed to his energy as a conversationalist. When my wife approached him in 2014 during the municipal election about putting up one of my signs, the exchange took over an hour. She felt triumphant when Quang eventually agreed. On her return a few days later, she found the bakery’s windows crowded with other election signs. Quang’s assistant told her that they let every candidate put up a sign.

The heavy demands of the bakery convinced Quang’s three sons that they should pursue different careers. None of them are interested in taking over the bakery. Quang nonetheless hopes that an individual will step forward to take over the bakery and the lease. 

In reflecting on Quang’s contribution to the neighbourhood, Ian Wright, who has known Quang for years, noted that: “The uniqueness of his shop reflected his character and gave a glimpse into the richness of the community around it.”

Quang’s bakery may now be gone, but his place will hopefully be taken by someone with a similarly compelling history who seeks to achieve their ambitions and dreams while offering valuable products.

Albert Koehl was a customer at Kensington Natural Bakery and Café for over 20 years, consuming an estimated 4,160 sugarless cookies.