Chris Lowrey
SHAWVILLE June 6, 2018
The Pontiac Home Bakery is in the top 10 of voting for the Sweetest Bakery in Canada competition.
The local bakery currently sits in ninth place nationally and second place in Quebec.
It’s quite the impressive feat considering the bakery is up against other establishments in more urban centres with far larger populations than the Pontiac.
“For a small town like this, it’s huge,” said owner Dan Duggan of the support in the community.
The contest features over 700 bakeries from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
Duggan said he’s been blown away by the amount of goodwill, not just from the local community, but from people all across the country.
He said the bakery has received votes from as far away as Vancouver.
“People who haven’t been here in 30 years voted for us,” he said. “Everybody has some kind of connection to [the area].”
The top 10 position is even more impressive considering the fact that the bakery’s campaign didn’t start until three weeks after the contest opened.
“I expected support, but this has been unbelievable,” Duggan said. “It’s dedication and it’s overwhelming.”
He said that locals have picked up the mantle for the bakery and that they have told him they feel like they’re a part of the competition.
“In a lot of elections your vote really doesn’t matter,” Duggan said “But here, your vote matters. People are trying to get others to vote.”
Duggan also said that getting into the top 10 bakeries in Canada can help the business in ways other than selling their delicious treats.
“Then all of a sudden if you happen to win, or get into the top five, you can now become a tourist attraction,” Duggan said. “People will come from far and wide to see what people rave about.”
Not only would the bakery obviously benefit from winning the crown of the Sweetest Bakery in Canada, but the community would too.
The grand prize is $10,000, half of which has to be used for a customer appreciation party. The other half can be used for advertising for the business.
Anyone who’s interested can cast a vote once per day on each device they own. Voters are encouraged to go to pontiachomebakery.com and click the link to vote. Ballots can also be cast in-store.
The polls close on July 31.
