14
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Black Butte
Sisters Bakery celebrates 20 years in business
world of small business: She
ranch to host By Jim Cornelius
was simply utterly determined
to make a go of it.
more fat-bike Sisters
For two decades now,
“There were days when I
Bakery on Cascade said, ‘I’m going to make this
Avenue has been a destination work, no matter what,’” she
events
stop for locals and visitors said.
News Editor
Black Butte Ranch is
continuing the Cow Patty
Crit race series with a race
on February 7, and one on
March 14.
Blazin Saddles and Black
Butte Ranch bring riders fur-
ther installments of the Cow
Patty Crit, They provide four
fat bikes for each race, and
riders provide the power and
gusto.
The course will be
designed to inspire anyone
to give it a whirl (so it won’t
be too tough). Expect stairs,
ramps, logs, tight corners,
and cyclocross-style barriers.
The course will be set up in a
field near Big Meadow Golf
Course.
Prizes will be up for grabs
for each category from Blazin
Saddles Bike Shop and Black
Butte Ranch. Online registra-
tion, $15, closes Thursday,
February 5, at 11:59 p.m.
Register at https://ultra
signup.com; search “Cow
Patty Crit.” Or register for
$25 on the day of the race
from 10 to 11 a.m.
Races begin promptly at
noon.
A warming fire will be
provided for participants
and spectators. Beverages
(including beer and hot choc-
olate) will also be for sale at
the site.
Competitors should
wear appropriate cloth-
ing, including closed-toe
shoes and a helmet (both
required).
alike. Whether it’s an over-
the-pass traveler looking for a
pastry and a cup of coffee for
the road or a local in need of
a cake for a birthday, Melissa
Ward and her staff at Sisters
Bakery have been meeting
their needs for 20 years.
Owning and operating an
iconic Sisters business wasn’t
part of a plan for Ward — she
sort of backed into it, pushed
by life’s circumstances.
“My life was falling
apart,” she recalled. “I wanted
a place where my kids could
come after school.”
Sisters Bakery was up for
sale.
“I had some money from
some property on the coast.
So I put that down on it. Just
jumped in with both feet,”
she recalled. “People thought
I was crazy to do it. I was an
English major. Classic story.”
There was not a whole lot
in the English major’s back-
ground that would point to
success as a baker and the
proprietor of a small busi-
ness. She had a little trans-
ferable experience running
the kitchen at Applejack’s, a
small grocery and deli then
operating in Sisters.
But Ward had the intangi-
ble quality that separates the
successful from the would-
have, could-haves in the
Ward says that learning
to manage a staff was the
toughest challenge — but
it also provided the greatest
rewards. Her hiring policy
was unconventional. Her
primary interview point was
to say: “Intrigue me.” That
meant she ended up working
with a lot of interesting folks
— most of whom had little or
no experience.
“Almost everyone who
has come here has learned the
trade on the job,” she said.
She consistently employs
about 17 people on a wide
variety of schedules. Many
teens in Sisters have learned
to work and be accountable in
Ward’s employ.
“It’s a great way for kids to
get their feet on the ground,”
she said.
The work isn’t as all-con-
suming as it used to be, thanks
to manager Jeremy Bates.
“I’ve really got it a lot
easier than I used to because
I have management now,”
Ward said.
Someday, Ward plans to
move on from the work that
has defined her life for the
past two decades, and maybe
dust off those English major
chops.
“I’m eventually going to
retire and do a lot of writing,”
she said. “See my family
Year-round
541-419-7477
FIREWOOD
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FOREST PRODUCTS
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Individualized Service
541-410-4509
Life is like a
garage door; it has
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581 N. Larch St., Sisters
SistersForestProducts.com
SISTERS
GARAGE DOORS
Dale Lester
CCB#151832
541-815-1523
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www.lakecreeklodge.com
Camp Sherman
photo by Jim Cornelius
Melissa Ward has been providing baked goods to locals and visitors for
two decades.
more. Be a real granny.”
someone with them who is
Ward has worked very gluten-free,” Ward said. “We
hard to make Sisters Bakery a try to have something for
signature Sisters business — them.”
and it keeps being discovered.
Ward says her greatest
“People discover us all the rewards have been her inter-
time and they’re amazed at actions with her staff and with
the variety of stuff we have in customers — and being a
here,” she said.
contributing part of the com-
From top-quality pastries munity of Sisters. She feels
to lovely breads, to cakes very protective of that com-
and donuts — there’s plenty munity (see related stories,
to tempt at Sisters Bakery. page 1 and 31).
And Ward and her staff will
At the end of the day,
accommodate special requests Melissa Ward has enjoyed
and special needs, like the something basic but sig-
increasingly prevalent need nificant, that most everyone
for gluten-free products.
aspires to and not everyone is
“You have people who able to achieve: “The idea of
are coming in for some sin going to work every day and
and pleasure and they have having it be enjoyable.”
Chiropractic Physician
1011 Desperado Trail, Ste. 203/204 • Sisters
Save time, money
& gas when you
shop Sisters!
Sisters Saver
Look for it the last Wednesday of
every month in The Nugget.
Also fi nd printable coupons
online at NuggetNews.com
To advertise in Sisters Saver ,
call Lisa at 541-549-9941.