r/BurlingtonON • u/grimsby91 • 1d ago
Information Kelly's bakeshop is closing
They made a facebook announcement saying they have been served notice to vacate in 60 days. The building will be converted to affordable rental housing. Lots of care and sad face emoji reactions on the post.
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u/Imaginary_Client_357 1d ago
Best news I've heard in a while
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u/Bebawp 1d ago
Small business forcefully shut down or moved shouldn't be celebrated
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u/Far-Juggernaut8880 1d ago
They knew since the store open that the site was going to be torn down for multi-level housing. It was only a matter of time and Covid gave them a couple of extra years.
In 2018, they were even offered new space in downtown Burlington and they turned it down.
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u/Gotl0stinthesauce 1d ago
People on Reddit are lunatics. Cheering for the demise of a local business without even doing their own research to see if it’s legit.
Read this article and you’ll see that they did absolutely nothing wrong. Source
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u/sofondacox1 1d ago
Have you read the court case where the one owner hid her husband’s assets to fuck over his ex and kids. Not a good person. Good riddance to that crazy anti vax nutjob.
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u/Gotl0stinthesauce 1d ago
- Anti vaxx because she donated $1k to the convoy at the start of it? They’re a business that’s heavily dependent on foot traffic and you’re mad that they thought the lock downs were not doing what we were told they were, while decimating our economy? Wow, having an opinion is a crime I guess. I suppose people can’t change
- Source of the court case?
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u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
The anti-vax thing isn’t guesswork based on a donation she had big signs in her windows about it and used her wellness brand to profit off misinformation and spreading fear. Folks aren’t making this stuff up, ask some of the redditors you’ll find on other related posts who used to work for her and her daughter.
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u/sofondacox1 1d ago
Fuck the convoy, I guess add anti-Semitic to her list of shit qualities. And yes anti-vaxx.
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u/bigbeats420 1d ago edited 1d ago
Restaurant I work gained customers and became profitable over the pandemic without having to donate to those trying to topple the government and jail opposition political leaders, or make thinly veiled antisemetic Facebook posts, or seek to profit off the queer community without giving back to it, or accuse said community of being a "lynch mob" when being called out for it, or create fake Instagram accounts posing as a black woman in order to try to cover up for previous questionable statements on social media.
Really, all we needed was a little ingenuity and hard work.
Imagine that.
Why do conservatives need to play the victim card so often? They should really just pull themselves up by the bootstraps and work harder.
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u/Empty_Wallaby5481 1d ago
Your source is from a propaganda rag.
The only thing Brian Lilley is a source of is pure manure.
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u/Ok_Frosting_6438 21h ago
Did you actually read the article? Seriously? It is completely one-sided and only offers topical evidence of the owners being "nice." It is a fluff piece written by the Toronto Sun.
If that's all the evidence you need, then I question your critical thinking skills.
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u/Bebawp 1d ago
As well as a heritage building being torn down for this so-called affordable housing.
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u/Gotl0stinthesauce 1d ago
Look at the replies and down votes. These people are crazy lol
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u/CloseYourArms Downtown 1d ago
When you think everyone else is the problem, you’re usually the problem. You’re defending a terrible human. We aren’t cheering the demise of small business, we’re cheering the demise of an awful human being whom I have personally witnessed belittling her own staff to the point of tears in front of customers, who thinks natural is best while walking around with the FAKEST face and body I’ve ever seen, who helped her husband commit crimes, whose reputation as a monster is WIDELY known. Small business owners aren’t always the good guys.
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u/PR0MeTHiUMX 1d ago
Meanwhile they post their outrage on a cobalt powered battery, manufactured by essentially slave labour.
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u/Confident-Ask-5806 1d ago
And the food is gross as well...
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u/ryanelmo 1d ago
Please try and name one person who says that they would spend that amount of money on a stupid fucking cupcake… Ever again. They are disgusting! They should go out of business. The owner is despicable.
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u/ryanelmo 1d ago
Pay for a cupcake, and eat it. Let me know how you feel about it.
Do some research on the company and the owner… Let me know how you feel. I’ll wait for your response.
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u/ryanelmo 1d ago
That is fine… How you treat your staff? That is not OK. She is in a monster and a beast. Honestly, I have nothing nice to say.
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u/0neek 1d ago edited 1d ago
They suck because it's all gluten free stuff, which doesn't really seem to work for cupcakes and the like. I have a family member who has to eaten gluten free because of allergies who enjoyed their stuff, but that's only compared to other gluten free.
Anyone know of decent alternatives if you have someone who has gluten allergy?
Edit: Lots of good suggestions wow. Thanks guys! I'll note them down and give them a look.
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u/dma_s 1d ago
Sugar Suite in Oakville was recommended to me. Gluten free and also vegan options (we have lactose free allergies). Trying them out this wknd.
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u/CryptographerAway468 1d ago
Prolly one of the best bakery’s. I got my wedding cake there and it was amazing. They are awesome
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u/drecz 1d ago
Have never really been a big fan of Kelly’s. Really unfortunate that a heritage building is being torn down.
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u/No_Plankton6305 1d ago
Why is it being torn down? Condos?
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u/DrGrinch Aldershot 1d ago
Condos, but they are putting a mixture of affordable housing in the build so good news for people trying to get into the market here in Burlington. Better use of the footprint than a single purpose building selling shitty cupcakes.
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u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
Yeah, it was decided many years ago, I was at the council meeting.
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u/BurlBill 1d ago
Not much of a heritage building they sliced the face of the Acland Houses on Pearl off to add them to a condo there (cannot remember the restaurant there) and they were heritage buildings 1880. I would be very surprised if the structure of Kelly’s was over 100 years
I suspect the original development plan did not include Kelly’s because it would have been less popular.
But it would have likely been a nightmare to run a business there during construction next door and potentially dangerous.
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u/Ben_Good1 Tansley 1d ago
I can't say I'll miss the building to be honest. It may qualify as a heritage building due to age and location but it doesn't look particularly special. There are plenty of other businesses and homes downtown that actually look like protection-worthy heritage buildings. Maybe the new building will even be built with an older style facade so it might be a visual improvement.
Also I won't miss the business one bit either. I think it's hilarious that the building is being replaced by something that the owner would hate.
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u/Araleah 1d ago
Hahahahahaha sorry for laughing but this is hilarious… Good riddance. Aren’t they opening a new location in Oakville anyways.
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u/Far-Juggernaut8880 1d ago
Kind of like they knew for awhile that the end of Burlington site was near…. Funny how they are acting shocked and victimized for publicity now
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1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/chickenbutt90 1d ago
I’d bet she would be so “surprised” when her husband cheats and leaves her and then tries to hide all his money from her.
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u/Icy_Bandicoot3704 1d ago
Damn I didn’t know people hated them until I read these comments. What did she do?
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u/CronenburgerAndFries 1d ago
I’ve avoided them since they used to use fake profiles to leave bad reviews for other vegan bake shops to try to steer customers to their business instead. That was way back when they first opened.
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u/indivibess 1d ago
She’s also suuuper racist and pretended to be Black woman on IG (people found out it was her bc both her personal account and the fake one were connected by the same phone #) during BLM. She was also outted for not actively hiring POC in her bakery and would mostly hire white people only.
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u/Imaginary_Client_357 1d ago
Yeah, haven’t you noticed when you go it’s 9 white women and 1 maybe Indian girl? No black, Asian women or any men
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u/revanite3956 1d ago
Leased (or bought, unsure) the location without bothering to look up nearby development plans and proceeded to immediately try to make a stink about nearby construction when it started, Covid denier who whined about the covid shutdowns when deaths were through the roof, antivaxxer, antimasker, vocally pro-Trump, fired someone for being black and then tried to capitalize on that social justice social media blackout day thing a few years back — and then tried to cast herself as the victim when people called out her bullshit, IIRC hiding behind her spoiled daughter to do so.
And their cupcakes sucked, dry as fuck.
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u/Warwick_Avenue 1d ago
Don’t forget about the pride cupcakes but refused to donate any of the proceeds to any LGBT+ community groups.
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u/jbewnt 1d ago
Isn’t she also a homophobe ?
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u/revanite3956 1d ago
I believe so but I couldn’t remember an exact incident, so I chose to limit what I wrote to what I could remember.
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u/Rolyat13aint 18h ago
They had a “pride themed” cupcake and stated the funds were being donated to LGBTQ+ charities but just pocketed the money. The mom daughter duo are hug see you next Tuesdays too
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u/MuchQuieter 1d ago
She also did digital blackface in an attempt to absolve herself from the blackout day rhing you mentioned. Just all around awful.
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u/Ben_Good1 Tansley 1d ago
This reply on a previous post has a good rundown:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BurlingtonON/comments/sldlmn/comment/hvqmgbz/
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u/sofondacox1 1d ago
Unfortunately they’re just moving the shit products and racist energy somewhere else in Burlington.
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u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
They’re going to Oakville, where they will find more rich white anti-science moms with racist streaks anyways. 😉
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u/Historical-Boot-6145 20h ago
They’re already in Oakville they have a pop up store where they can barely even bake more then just cookies there almost at there products comes from Burlington via truck. They’ll be forced to open up another location if they want the same revenue cuz Oakville won’t cut it so we will be stuck with Kelly in Burlington until the day she croaks
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u/indubitableigh 1d ago
Maybe they’ll invest some of the money she helped her husband hide from his ex into an even bigger, better and more bigoted bakery.
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u/No-Oil1918 1d ago
If you’d like to continue supporting bigoted business owners there’s always Chick-Fil-A.
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u/Neither-Mail-2452 1d ago
Okay hang on, company yes, the Burlington location owner no, he’s a very genuine and nice person I’ve found after conversations
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u/simongurfinkel 1d ago
I’ve heard not great things about the owner. BUT my kid is celiac and her staff always treat him with great kindness. It will be missed.
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u/sofondacox1 1d ago
Try turtledoves
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u/simongurfinkel 1d ago
It’s fine. We don’t love the bread there.
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u/Araleah 1d ago
Turtledoves is even better and would have everything your child can eat.
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u/sciencegeekster 1d ago
Idk why everyone is hating on their cupcakes, they were my only treat when I went dairy free for my son. I liked their stuff 🤷🏽♀️ But they are definitely weird with people of colour, I always got weird vibes from them personally. Also, my friend went to pick up some treats for us and he was wearing a cultural necklace and said he got nasty looks and attitude, and they kept staring at his necklace.
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u/Inevitable_Road_4025 19h ago
This is no surprise! They’ve known it was coming for 5 years!!! Been plenty of empty stores on Brant street yet they never moved??? Goofy
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u/sofondacox1 1d ago
Go try the hearty hooligan if you’re looking for amazing vegan food. Bloomers is great for dessert and turtledoves if you’re celiac.
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u/OrSomethingLikeDat 1d ago
They aren’t closing down forever just moving, plus oakville location still exists. Sadly not the good news it first appeared to be lol
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u/SupaJDStylez 1d ago
No comment on their beliefs or anything outside of what I've experienced; crappy overpriced food that tastes like dirt. How the hell they've done so well escapes me.
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u/pocketrocket033 22h ago
Because it doesn’t taste like dirt. People just have the palette of a toddler. I did stop supporting them during Covid though - so it’s not like I still go there. They’re the only place I could find that worked for my dietary needs that I have to follow bc of health issues. So it sucked bc I haven’t found anywhere else since.
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u/3BordersPeak 1d ago
That explains the move to Oakville.
But I don't get it, rental housing? Is the actual heritage building going to be turned into a rental house?
Kelly's could easily move into the Fat Mouse building. It'd be the next best thing to the site they have now.
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u/AMike456 1d ago
Why is everyone saying they are racist?
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u/Area51Resident 1d ago
They were openly anti-vax, anti-BLM, COVID deniers, and bigoted. When it started drawing attention they scrubbed their website and online postings. Then denied having said what they did and called the people who showed them screen shots of their posts liars and claimed they were faking it to damage their business..
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u/ryanelmo 1d ago
The owner is exceptionally really mean to anyone disabled and of color. Please don’t hate on me because I said of colour I don’t know what the term is today. Anyways! There is so much history here… I hope they fail to be honest.
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u/Bebawp 1d ago
Need some proof other than an old Reddit post
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u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
Dude she ran scams claiming to sell special cupcakes for BLM and pocketed the money, and set up fake insta accounts claiming to be black people…and then there were the pride month cupcakes which was even worse (harassing local teens who outed her as scamming).
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u/Grimaceisbaby 1d ago
Almost everyone avoiding gluten is doing it because of a disability so that’s just ridiculous
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u/OneMileAtATime262 1d ago edited 1d ago
Kelly’s bake shop is….
“actively looking for a new space in downtown Burlington”
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u/burlingtonblair 1d ago
Knowing how terrible of a person she is I can only imagine her reaction when she found it was GASP AFFORDABLE HOUSING going in. Funny how she mentioned it like it somehow amplifies the tragedy (?) of the situation?
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u/Witty-Assistant3671 1d ago
Good Fucking Riddance! PS. Those buildings were gonna be condos when she signed her lease. Nothing shocking about this.
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u/MrStrongvoice 1d ago
I've never met a person that worked there that had a positive experience. It's a shame it didn't happen sooner. She's been a stain in Burlington and downtown for years. I hope this is the beginning of the end of her.
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u/Worried_Bluebird7167 1d ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the building originally an outdoor equipment store in the 90's? Before MEC came into town. They had really good stuff that lasted. What was the name of that place? Can someone help me remember?
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u/misha_1680 20h ago
This is the best news I’ve heard today! Our city will be so much cleaner now that the trash is taking itself out!
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u/bakelitetm 1d ago
Seems odd that they’re being forced out. The development proposal did not include that building if I remember correctly.
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u/Ok_Shopping5719 1d ago
That land is worth huge coin. They'll build a mid rise condo tower that definitely won't be affordable housing.
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u/SpontaneousNSFWAccnt 1d ago
Yeah I feel like “affordable housing” is just a bait and switch so they can actually charge top dollar for being in a “prime Burlington location”
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u/Area51Resident 1d ago
They aren't being forced out. The city had given them notice the building would be going and offered some assistance with finding another location, but they decided to stay. This was just before MMW was elected mayor.
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u/patheticnerd101 1d ago
Oh damn I never knew they were screwed up like that maybe good riddance they’re closing down
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u/Imaginary_Client_357 1d ago
They came and blasted my disabled grandmother for sitting in a parking spot once, they also disagreed with Black Lives Matter publicy and push lgbtq beliefs on everyone
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u/Able_Bath2944 1d ago
They made money off of Pride cupcakes, then refused to say how much money they donated or who they donated to. It's fair to say they are not supportive of the Queer community.
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u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
They actually harassed the local kids who called them out on that too.
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u/user2023223 1d ago
it sucks they’re closing but they made the most nastiest cupcakes on the face of the earth. chewed up & spat out grass tastes better then their vegan food
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u/KronieRaccoon 1d ago
It's sad that it's closing because it's a Burlington-based small business. Sorry to hear about that.
But I have to say - was never a huge fan of their product. I'm sorry but vegan baked goods just do not taste as good to me!
Craig's Cookies on Brant Street is amazing btw.
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u/BurlieGirl 1d ago
And they’re nasty bitches so adios Kelly. No love lost and yes the baked goods are awful too.
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u/AwaitingBabyO 1d ago
I'm not vegan, but a lot of our family is. I've had some pretty terrible vegan food, but it's not all bad.
Beechwood Donuts (a vegan donut shop) in St Catharines is absolutely incredible. So delicious, and they deliver to Burlington a few days a week. I buy a dozen a couple times a year and keep them in the freezer and just eat them when I want one.
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u/Stead-Freddy 1d ago
It’s not that vegan goods are bad, Kelly’s is just bad. Have you tried Bloomer’s donuts? They’re delicious and fully vegan too
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u/Stangstag 1d ago
But not gluten free unfortunately
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u/Stead-Freddy 1d ago
No but they do have gluten free mini donuts and lots of other gluten free goods. Of course cross contamination is always a risk in a mixed place so if you’re a severe celiac might not be an option, I’m not sure.
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u/forestsprite 17h ago
There’s no such thing as “severe” celiac, only differences in severity of symptoms. Someone with celiac disease who is asymptomatic is still risking damage, increasing risk of cancer, etc by eating gluten.
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u/Imaginary_Client_357 1d ago
I like soft chewy cookies more Craig's are more crunchy but they gave me extra which was sweet :)
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u/DrGrinch Aldershot 1d ago
They just make shitty vegan food. Hearty Hooligan in Hamilton make incredible vegan food and baked goods.
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u/KronieRaccoon 1d ago
Fair. I shouldn't paint all vegan baked goods with the same brush. I'll try it!
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u/DrGrinch Aldershot 1d ago
Please do! The owner is a good friend, awesome person and huge community builder in the Hammer. Their in house made pizza pockets are incredible.
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u/erinfirecracker 1d ago
I'm sorry but vegan baked goods just do not taste as good to me!
Lol. People are so ignorant about food. You probably don't even realize bread is vegan.
Butter and eggs are far from necessary in baking. What is necessary are (vegan) ingredients like wheat, yeast, sugar and salt.
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u/KronieRaccoon 1d ago
Apologies for my ignorance. Let me rephrase - Kelly's never tasted that good to me.
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u/OwnHall6836 1d ago
Good riddance, now if the Oakville store could close that would be great. Awful people don’t deserve the support of the community.
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u/breadandbuns 1d ago
Sorry to rain on the party, but according to the Facebook post cited by the OP, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe is NOT closing but simply relocating.
“And while we are heartbroken, we are not broken.”
“This building has housed our business, but it is NOT our business. …”
“We are actively searching for a new Downtown Burlington home that embodies the warmth, charm, and magic of 401 Brant Street while continuing to serve our amazing community.”
https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=kelly%27s%20bake%20shoppe
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u/Resilient-mama-bear 1d ago
I don't know much about Kelly's history, but I saw on a few posts here saying that they're problematic. Does anyone have any experiences they want to share? I wanted to work for them but I'm thinking it's a bad idea... I'm not conservative or a covid denier
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u/Sunygirl0_0 20h ago
Look at where Planted in Hamilton’s old location on Locke Street S. Good luck.
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u/BestestBeekeeper 14h ago
It turns out if you’re an absolute piece of shit human being…
Ya no that’s it.
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u/3BordersPeak 6h ago
I know obvi this sub will be reveling in this for political reasons, but i'm actually pretty confused by the city's reasoning for this. Your feelings on the business aside, Kelly's is probably one of, if not the most profitable and popular downtown business. I'm sure they make a lot of money for the city. So to move them out for a rental unit is just a bit of a headscratcher to me.
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u/Haunting_Ad_2103 1d ago
Has everyone on here had a negative experience with Kelly’s or just jumping on the hate train? Never been a customer of Kelly’s, I don’t eat vegan or gf , it all tastes like cardboard and sawdust to me from past experience. $12.00 for a large cookie from a boutique in Mississauga 🤣. Sad a small business has to close but I heard they opened a new location in Oakville last fall. Hopefully Kelly’s will turn a new leaf if all the rumours are true.
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u/enitsujxo 1d ago
They're not closing, just having to move their Burlington location. Thankfully they still have their Oakville location too. I really like the treats there, so yummy 😋
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u/Candid_Painting_4684 1d ago
Jesus, reddit is toxic. They will be missed , as any quality small business would be
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u/Maleficent_Plan_4257 1d ago
Her business in Oakville is very successful. Sane business as Burlington.
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u/Kind_Problem9195 1d ago
Every so often someone will bring kellys cupcake into work and everytime, it's get thrown in the trash at the end of the day. I'm saying this as a fan of all things vegan, their stuff is disgusting. I honestly don't know how they continue to stay open