Flagstaff Region Featured Business: The Wooden Spoon
(as published in the April 4 edition of The Community Press)
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press.
The Wooden Spoon Café and Cakeshop
4819 48 Avenue, Sedgewick, Alberta
780-384-3554
Open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“I’m a journeyman baker myself, so I just always wanted to own a little bakery,” Thompson says.
Bergseth adds, “I always wanted to open a little soup and sandwich spot.”
That’s when fate stepped in.
“Tammy and I literally ran into each other on the street one day and we were both looking at another establishment,” Bergseth recalls. “She was kinda thinking about it. I was kinda thinking about it. We met outside and thought maybe we’ll do it together.”
And so they did.
The Wooden Spoon Café and Cakeshop was established in 2013.
The co-owners joke that the name itself was chosen “in a panic” after visiting with their lawyer to draw up the paperwork for the new business.
“He’s like, ‘OK, what’s your name?’ and we’re like, ‘We actually don’t have a name yet,’” Thompson explains. “And he said, ‘Well, you need a name first.’”
After some hurried brainstorming that night, the duo decided on the Wooden Spoon.
“We pulled from a name that we saw of a different place. We combined our own twist on it,” Bergseth notes.
“The Wooden Spoon, it relates to baking and cooking, but people also relate it to the wooden spoon,” adds Thompson, gently gesturing with an imaginary wooden spoon in her hand.
“Everybody’s got one in their house and everybody’s had one used in some way. It just kinda stuck.”
Now a community landmark, the popular daytime eatery has forged a reputation as a proven purveyor of fresh, high-quality food.
Besides a varied selection of food, drinks, specialty cakes and other treats, the Wooden Spoon – which employs one full-time staff member, four part-timers, and two students – also offers catering for groups large and small.
“We really try to promote fresh and homemade stuff, especially in the baking end of it,” Thompson says. “All my recipes are all homemade from scratch. I think that matters to people.”
Along with that premise, the Wooden Spoon strives to provide customers with a positive dining experience. That includes the unique décor, which Thompson encapsulates as “a mishmash of random coloured chairs and doors everywhere.”
The co-owners also enjoy engaging in playful banter with patrons. They laughingly agree that sometimes they’re guilty of teasing customers a little too much.
“But we have good regulars,” Tammy says.
In honour of Grilled Cheese Month, the Wooden Spoon is offering the following April special on its most popular menu item: buy one Ultimate Grilled Cheese and get a second half off.
For any would-be entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in the Flagstaff Region, Bergseth and Thompson advise to do your homework and make sure that your idea fits with your community’s needs and wants.
“You have to be very aware of what you’re getting into,” Thompson notes.
“It’s hard work. You’ve got to be always thinking and working. You need to have that positive attitude and have that focus.”
Bergseth adds, “You’re going to have to be there. You can’t just start it and walk away from it because you’re the one that cares the most about your business.”
‘Like’ and ‘follow’ the Wooden Spoon on Facebook for daily specials.
As published in the April 4 edition of The Community Press – on newsstands today. Never miss an issue, become a SUBSCRIBER today!
The Flagstaff Region Featured Business is a monthly newspaper and web feature presented in partnership by Flagstaff County and The Community Press. For more information, contact Jenalee Blackhurst, Economic Development Coordinator, at 780-384-4152. Looking to market your business? Look no further than the area’s #1 Medium since 1908. Phone 780-385-6693 or Email ads@thecommunitypress.com today.
