The quintessential family-run business, Sweet SAAK Bakery started when owner Kamilah Cannonier returned from pastry school and started creating her delectable treats in her mom’s kitchen and selling them at the Farmer’s Market. Before long, she’d developed a loyal following and was able to open the St. George’s bakery in 2012, earning four Best of Bermuda Awards, a VIP Award nomination, numerous articles and a strong social media presence since. The name of the store derives from the first letters of her own and her siblings’ names—Shree, Ankoma, Angelo and Kamilah.
While the popular York Street bakery creates a large selection of delicious sweet treats—including scones, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, cakes and more—it is their hot-out-of-the-oven, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet (but not overly so) cinnamon buns that have customers consistently raving about the store. “Most customers tell us how far they drive just for our cinnamon buns,” said Kamilah. “We have regular customers from as far away as Warwick and Somerset. We even have island visitors take our buns back home with them.”
“Our cinnamon buns are both famous and infamous, and we are happy to explain why,” she continued. “Our cinnamon buns are by far the most popular item on our menu. We can attribute most of our customers to the successful development of this recipe. Now comes the infamous part. All items at Sweet SAAK are baked using family recipes. My version of the story is that this particular recipe was ‘donated’ to Sweet SAAK’s repertoire by my brother Ankoma who was the original baker of the buns. Ankoma left Sweet SAAK to peruse a ‘real job,’ therefore rendering all residual recipes to the ‘collective’ ownership of me, Sweet SAAK Bakery! The success of these buns happened after the departure of Ankoma whose sour grapes are brought to all family gatherings. Ankoma is still very involved in Sweet SAAK Bakery; he is now our Sunday breakfast chef. (PS My buns are so much better than his ever were!)”
When asked why she thinks her cinnamon buns are so popular, the baker replied that it comes down to three things: exclusivity, freshness and a continuously improving recipe. “The original size buns (5.5-inch diameter) are only available on Wednesdays, Saturdays and now Sundays, so people look forward to their availability,” said Kamilah. “On days that cinnamon buns are available we bake them in small batches throughout the day so that you are most likely to receive a warm bun at any time you arrive. Since introducing these buns to our menu we have continuously improved our recipe, proofing techniques, baking times/temperatures and icing in order to produce better-quality buns. If you haven’t had a bun in a while, give us another try; we promise you they’re better!”
Need a warm bun on your desk to get over hump day? With sufficient notice—and an easy-to-use order form on their website—warm buns can be delivered every Wednesday for a small delivery fee thanks to brother Angelo.
The bakery also offers interactive lessons and parties for special occasions and office events. While the owner isn’t announcing any immediate future plans, things are looking sweet for the bakery indeed. “We have deliberately taken our time to perfect our product, our services and our brand before considering any push for expansion or increased services,” said Kamilah. “However, we are now considering a few options for Sweet SAAK that we hope to be promoting soon. The ‘sweet’ future of Sweet SAAK should be an amazing ride.”
If you wish to keep up-to-date with all the daily specials and future offerings from Sweet SAAK, check out their website www.sweetsaak.com, Instagram (@sweetsaakbakery), twitter (@sweetsaak) and FaceBook (Sweet SAAK Bakery or Cakes By Lah).
