emmer toronto

Toronto's newest bakery overwhelmed by demand on opening weekend

Toronto's newest bakery had an opening weekend that makes it a candidate for the hottest new spot in town for bread.

You might remember Emmer baked goods being sold through refined comfort food restaurant Donna's, run by friends of Emmer owner Philip Haddad.

Haddad is actually a dentist specializing in implants, dentures and veneers and whatnot. But he's also got a passion for food and baking, and his buzzy bakery, originally set to be called Emmer & Ash, has been in the works for years.

The bakery finally soft opened at 161 Harbord St. this past weekend on May 15 starting at 9 a.m. to an enthusiastic response.

"We had an overwhelmingly busy weekend with lineups starting before opening and were pretty constant until early to mid-afternoon," Haddad tells theGentries.

He says bread is baked throughout the day so it should always be available, but that some items (which they had made hundreds of) sold out in a few hours. Overall, however, their focus is on baking throughout the day and adding new items as bakes progress.

Basically that means there's always something new and delicious on offer at Emmer: ham and cheese baguettes, bacon butties, croissants, breakfast sandwiches, halloumi on toast.

If you're waiting in line, you might even want to check their Instagram page to see if they've posted about anything coming out of the oven hot and fresh.

"We appreciate the love and all the patience as we try and accommodate everyone," says Haddad.

"We will be back on Thursday at 9 a.m. with as much as we can produce and maintain our standard."

Lead photo by

Emmer


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