Music maven and pastry chef open Sweet Thea Bakery spot in East Vancouver
New Main Street bake shop and café is a passion project of wife-and-husband team Thea and Laurie Mercer
Laurie (left) and Thea Mercer. Photo by Daniela Ciuffa Photography
THERE’S A NEW bake shop-café in East Vancouver’s Riley Park neighbourhood, and it’s a dream come true for owners Thea and Laurie Mercer.
Years in the making, Sweet Thea Bakery carries freshly made breads, croissants, cookies, cakes, pies (apple, strawberry, rhubarb, and cherry), macarons, tarts, cream puffs, sausage rolls, palmiers, hand pies, babka, danishes, and then some—alongside breakfast and lunch items like toasts (including one with smashed avocado, fried eggs, and bacon crumbs), sandwiches, soups, frittata, and more.
Thea is the baker of the married pair while Laurie is a jack-of-all trades who draws on his background in the music industry to help run things behind the scenes. Each brings unique skills to the venture, while they share a DIY mindset.
In an interview at the bustling spot while Thea is busy cooking and baking, Laurie recalls how they first met more than 16 years ago, when Thea was the pastry chef at the Vancouver Club. At the time, he was immersed in all things music; he’d founded Music West, managed bands like DOA and No Means No, acted as an agent for bands in Europe and Australia, and worked as a concert promoter at venues like the now-defunct Luv Affair. Thea had previously gained experience at Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, when the 100-mile diet was gaining ground.
“I just suggested, ‘Why don’t you start your own bakery? It can’t be that hard.’ Which was one of the stupidest things I ever said,” Laurie says with a laugh, “because while DIY in the music industry was popular for somebody that was forceful and hard-working, the food industry is a lot more stratified and political. There’s a lot of hurdles to jump through, and it’s a hard time catching a consumer’s attention. With a band, you make one good, noisy song, and boom, you're there.”
Sweet Thea Bakery. Photo by Gail Johnson
Sweet Thea Bakery. Photo by Gail Johnson
After Thea left Vancouver Club, she and Laurie built up a business doing wedding cakes, then turned their attention to farmers’ markets, where they would regularly sell out of baked goods. Following a research trip to Europe, they focused on seasonal offerings, selling stollen, fruitcake, cookies, and plum pudding at craft fairs, Christmas fairs, and other holiday events throughout B.C. and Alberta. Once COVID hit, they opened up a pop-up shop on Main Street with holiday baking. In 2021, they opened a small storefront and launched a website called Fruitcake Plus. They had also spent time selling their products at the BC Ferries Tsawwassen terminal.
“I love the thrill of always trying to find new ways to improve,” Thea says, during a brief pause from the kitchen. “Baking is technical, different from cooking. Even the smallest adjustments can make a huge difference, either good or bad, so I spend a lot of time in nervous anticipation.
“I'm a morning person; I like to be up before the rest of the world wakes up, and I love having delicious things to serve customers when we open,” she adds. “And, of course, I begin every day with the smell of fresh baked bread. Who wouldn't want that?”
Sweet Thea Bakery. Photo by Gail Johnson.
Sweet Thea’s new spot, at 4789 Main Street, carries several different types of bread, including sourdough, which is made following the traditional three-day process. The variety of loaves on any given day include pesto focaccia, whole grain and seeds sourdough, garlic and rosemary sourdough, jalapeno and cheddar sourdough, fig and walnut rye sourdough, and rugbrod (Danish rye bread).
“It’s all real cream, real butter, no modified corn products, no wacky ingredients,” Laurie says. “We’re working with all-natural ingredients here. Every day around here is like a high-wire act.”
Sweet Thea uses 49th Parallel beans for its coffee and also carries a handful of products from local makers like Le Meadows Pantry and Frost Bites Syrup Co.
Instead of free Wi-Fi, the place has a “take a book, leave a book” station set up.
In the works are evening cooking classes from the open-concept kitchen area.
“We love this community,” Laurie says, noting that he and Thea live in the same building that the bakery is in. “This was the dream and this was the neighbourhood.”
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