Have you ever thought of opening up a bakery in Winnipeg? Probably not, but Jon McPhail and Rheanna Tara Melnick did. It’s called Jonnies Sticky Buns and it is the shit in Winnipeg.

A sneak peak into the life of a cinnamon bun baker can be exhausting with 3:00AM wake up calls and emails from William Shatner to deal with. But we’ve learned that the trick to succeeding in the sticky bun business is CBC radio and a lotsa coffee.  Curious to get a glimpse into a day in the life, we talked to co-founder Jon McPhail about his sticky sweet little shop that keeps the ‘peg warm during winter.

What does a typical day at Jonnies look like? From when you wake up to close? 
Wake up a 3:00AM, snooze. Wake up at 3:30AM and run out the door.
Arrive at bakery and turn on CBC.
Mix the doughs from 4:00AM-5:00am, get the ingredients and pans ready to go.  
Roll, roll, roll. bake, bake, bake. 
cut, dress, and plate buns
make coffee, turn on lights, grill, till….
Open the shop. 
Get orders together for Rheanna.
Make deliveries, buy groceries, run errands.
Do dishes, clean kitchen, serve customers.
Prep tomorrows apples, carrots, artichokes, caramel, or whatever else needs doing. 
Design posters, change the website, marketing meeting, send press releases, meet with business owners, meet with salesmen, make bank deposit…etc. 
Bob Marley dance party.
Serve people, restock bun cabinet, make coffee, clean dishes, fill sugars…etc.
Mop up, cash out, close up…lights out.

You have a bun called the William Shatner….why? What? HOW!??
William Shatner was coming to town. We got really excited, as most trekkies would!  I marked the day he was coming on the calendar with, “Shat Bun?”  As the calendar flipped over to October and the day neared we decided we should make a Shat Bun in Bill Shatner’s honour.  Trying to think of what would be in the Shat Bun proved harder than we expected. We sent an email to his personal assistant and agent,  AND HE WROTE BACK!!  He said,  “Peanut butter is always good, or maybe something with a cherry centre, or if you’re feeling particularly creative why not marzipan!!”  All of those things screamed Shatner to us so we decided to put them all in the same bun!  Toasted almonds and cinnamon in the roll with  a cherry in the center and Saturn style rings of marzipan lay artfully on top. It was delicious,  Shatner himself said so!

What’s the most popular bun?
Princess Leroy: Homemade caramel sauce- big and cheap!

What’s the weirdest bun combination you’ve ever made?
The Bunjourno: Dill, Havarti, Raspberries, and a Hint of Coffee.
or The Smore: A smore in a bun with Graham cracker teddy bear heads floating in chocolate on top.

Your buns look so gooey and delicious, what makes them healthy too?
Our buns are made with whole organic locally sourced products.  No preservatives, no additives, just whole grain goodness!  We mill our whole wheat flour and spelt flour fresh in store and grind our cinnamon daily.  The freshest products on the most delicious and decadent buns. You’d think that you’d be doing bad things to your body,  but you’re not!

Why is Winnipeg the place for you guys to be?
It’s where we live, our friends and family are here, the community of organic and local food supporters is strong and I can see my house from up here!

Hmm. This sure sounds like it beats the cinnabun hut at Eglinton station. Worth the trip to Winnipeg? We’d like to taste William Shatner. 

Jonnies Sticky Buns
941 Portage Ave.
204.415.7287
Follow them on Twitter  @JonniesBuns

~ Lindsey Peterson