The Best Thing Since Sliced City Bread
Everything old is new again, but the bread is always fresh.
City Bread’s beginnings date back to 1948. Today the bakery is owned by Harvey Goldman. His father, the late Max Goldman bought the business in the 1970s from the Perlmutter family.
Kyle Watson and Derek Kostynuik are the City Bread managers charged with carrying the bakery forward under Harvey’s guidance. Today, [or, on the day of our interview] he’s quick to respond to a text when a question came up about a photo on display at both the administrative offices on Jarvis Avenue and the bakery’s retail store at 238 Dufferin Ave.
Location at 238 Dufferin Avenue 
‘The Workingmens Bakery’ – Photos by Claudine Gervais
A sign in the image reads ‘The Workingmens Bakery,’ and 12 men and 10 horses are pictured lined up alongside bakery delivery vehicles. Harvey explained that the bakery was one of the forerunners to City Bread and the photo was discovered in a desk shortly after his family took over operations there.
This history is part of City Bread’s legacy, said Watson, and one they will carry forward as they continue to build the business for the future. One trend they have noticed is a return to the way people may have shopped in the past, by visiting specialty shops for cheese, meat, eggs and baking. “It’s the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker,” said Kostynuik. “People aren’t just going to one place. They are looking to local, independent retailers over chains.”
“People want to know where their food is coming from and what’s in it.” That type of awareness extends to the local partners City Bread supplies, from the signature pumpernickel City Bread bakes for Rae and Jerry’s Steak House, to toasted on a triple-decker club sandwich at Nathan Detroit’s or the thick, hand-cut rye used to build a River City Brisket at King + Bannatyne.
Photos by Kristhine Guerrero
City Bread’s social media presence on Instagram and Facebook has picked up recently to feature the places you’ll find their products in use, in all their drool-worthy glory. Meanwhile, the retail shop in the heart of the North End is adjacent to the bakery and retains its less-than-grammable background, while the baking takes centre stage. With no added sugar, fat or artificial preservatives, City Bread is bread that is made with simple ingredients, including whole grains, flour from wheat grown and harvested in the Prairies, water, yeast and salt.
This authenticity is baked in.
