Brinder Bains heads two West End COBS Bread locations.

COBS BREAD
Everything Baked Fresh Right In The Store

Did you know — that “cob” is an old English word for a round loaf of bread, possibly originating from an even earlier time when a cob referred to a round piece of clay used in house building, and is also a slang term for a person’s head? That’s right, the crusty-outside and soft-inside round loaf that is often hollowed out for spinach dip and parties is a cob.

The word, in the round loaf of bread sense, is still used in the UK and is very popular in Australia, where the COBS Bread chain of neighbourhood bakeries was started in 1980 by Roger and Lesley Gillespie when they founded the parent company, Baker’s Delight. The venture expanded into a multi-generational family business, now with more than 700 bakeries around the world, including 125 in Canada, including the two popular locations in the West End.

Since the cob loaf was one of their signature products, Cob was thrown into the mix as a name. Roger loved the fact that they already used COB as an acronym for “company-owned-bakery” and realised that it could stand for a number of phrases, such as “Cunning Old Bakers”, “Canada's Own Bread Stores”, and even “Celebration Of Bread”. So, COBS Bread it became, with COBS standing for any and all of those phrases.

Notwithstanding the size of the chain, COBS retains that neighbourhood feeling because in most cases the local franchisee lives in and is committed to the community in which they do business.

As Brinder Baines, the owner of the West End’s two locations, explains, “in recruiting franchisees, the company makes a special point of looking for people with roots in the neighbourhood.” Brinder herself was exceptionally qualified. A West End resident for 15 years with two school-age children attending the local elementary school, she loved West End living and was thrilled to find a business opportunity mere blocks from her home.

Born in India and moving to Canada at age nine, Brinder’s previous work experience also burnished her qualifications. “I began my work life at McDonald’s” she explained, “starting at the front counter and over 23 years, working my way up to middle management. What could be better preparation for understanding how a franchise business works?”

Brinder discovered the Davie Street COBS when her nieces were visiting and wanted French Toast for breakfast. Looking for someplace that sold fresh bread, which makes the best French Toast, she found what she was looking for at COBS. Doing a little online research on the company’s website, she discovered that franchises were available, including for her neighbourhood outlet. She made an appointment with head office, and two weeks later the store was hers!

“The company is very clear that they want each franchise owner to run their store as they want, and as their customers prefer. As long as we adhere to company policies we’re pretty much independent.”

The Davie Street location was opened by the company in 2003 and Brinder purchased the franchise in 2007. When the company opened a second West End location five years ago, Brinder was able to acquire that one as well a year later. Today she also owns a COBS in Kitsilano.

COBS bakers are in the kitchen by 3 a.m. daily, and everything on offer is baked fresh that day from scratch — no exceptions, and no delivery trucks bringing baked goods from a central warehouse or other outlets. That’s why the stores smell like Mom’s kitchen. And as leaders in a growing trend, there are no left-overs or day-olds on the shelves either. Everything not sold by the end of the day is donated to local charities.

Congratulations to Brinder and her staff for staying the course during the current pandemic, keeping employees and customers safe, and (editor’s note) those delicious raspberry and custard danish pastries!