News you knead: COBS Bread bakery coming to Churchill Plaza

COBS Bread, a popular Canadian bakery franchise, is one of the three new tenants that will be moving into the former JC Sakura restaurant building in Churchill Plaza.

The website for COBS Bread lists Karen Spyce as the Sault’s franchisee.

“The former JC Sakura building is being split into three and we will be the middle unit and we’re in construction phase right now, with the hope that we will be opening at the end of August,” Spyce told SooToday.

“I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie,” she continued. “My husband was with the military and we were posted in Alberta and that’s where we came across COBS. We moved back in 2020 and saw the opportunity for a COBS in Sault Ste. Marie, knowing that it was an opportunity  to give back to our community as well.”

COBS Bread, which boasts more than 150 locations across Canada, donates food to local charities at the end of each business day.

Spyce said the soon-to-open Sault location, her first business venture, will donate baked goods to Pauline’s Place, ARCH and the Salvation Army food bank.

COBS Bread originated in 1980 in Australia as a family run business called Bakers Delight. With more than 700 locations in Australia and New Zealand, Bakers Delight entered the Canadian market in 2003 under the name COBS Bread.

Skyline Retail, which is headquartered in Guelph, acquired Churchill Plaza in 2019. The company has a portfolio of 118 properties across five provinces with grocery stores, pharmacies and other businesses.  

“The existing building at Churchill Plaza is undergoing an extensive renovation and is being divided into three separate tenant spaces, one of which will include a drive-thru,” wrote Gordon Driedger, the president of Skyline Retail, in an email to SooToday. “We are currently finalizing our tenant leases for the prospective tenants and expect to be able to announce the specifics in the next several weeks. It is anticipated that the first of these tenants will be open for business in early fall of this year.”