History of KBCC

 With a passion for feeding children wholesome organic bread—including their own dozen the Desilets sisters founded Manna Foods Organic Bakery in Edmonton in 1986. Their hearty breads and freshly milled gluten‑free products soon appeared in health food stores, co‑ops, and major retailers across the city.

In 1991, the family moved to Nelson, where Leonard Nicoll, Barbarah’s skilled baker husband, opened The Kootenay Baker alongside the Kootenay Country Store Co‑op. As the bakery grew, it became clear that its future could be strengthened through shared ownership. It was Barbarah Nicoll’s idea to transition to a worker‑owned cooperative, inspired by her earlier experience running a small co‑op called Shavi Shavi. She, Leonard, and Cynthia Olivas led the early discussions about making the change, envisioning a business that truly embodied community, equality, and collaboration.

When the Co‑op expanded in 2001, Leonard and Barbarah invited the bakery staff to become co‑owners. Together, nine founding members—Leonard Nicoll, Deborah Desilets, Ian MacIntosh, Wendy Richards, Sheelagh Wright, Cynthia Olivas, and Mark Sharelove—officially formed a worker‑owned cooperative rooted in strong cooperative values: community, shared responsibility, and democratic decision making.

·        1986 Our story starts in Edmonton at Mana Bakery.  First started as a wholesale-only organic bakery with a focus on specialty baking addressing allergies and dietary needs. The bread grains were sourced from Arnold Schmidt who invented cold milling of grain. Cold milling helps retain more of the nutrients in grains.

·        1987 Retail and wholesale storefront acquired in Edmonton and was a community hangout for families.

·        1991 The great move to British Columbia. Leonard Nicoll as sole proprietor of Mana Foods changed the name to Kootenay Bakery, attributed to the new location’s address on the corner of Kootenay and Baker St.

·        2000 Talk began about changing to a workers-owned cooperative model instead of sole proprietorship. Work began on choosing colors that represent the stages of food growth.  Collaboration with the photographer Fred Rosenberg begins.

·        2001 The bakery moves to our current location, 377 Baker Street in Nelson BC. The massive rotary oven was moved piece by piece with the largest being rolled on logs a block to the new location. Kootenay Bakery changes into a worker-owned cooperative. (list of members?) Preferred shares were created to help with fundraising efforts and with support from the community, raising $50,000. The Kootenay Bakery Café Co-op was born.

·        2004 The beginning of hanging local artwork and participating in Nelson BC’s Art Walk

·        2005 Kootenay Made Natural Products was created to distribute local food suppliers to the greater kootenay region. (Silverking Tofu, Antonette’s Dip and Oso Negro Coffee)

·        2006/2007 The bakery expands to the basement, large rotary, walk-in freezer installed in the basement along with a large worktable.

·        2008 Preferred shares paid back community members who invested in the bakery.

·        2014 Organic meat products were introduced, changing the long-standing history of being a vegetarian café. The change was well received by our customers.

·         2014 Coop membership changes make it more accessible for staff to buy into the business.

·        2015 Café renovations helped refresh the space as well improving on the overall flow and increased seating.

·        2020 Working with Economusee