Hockey and baking run in this Sault family (big time)

Superior Home Bakery & Deli remains a landmark business on Great Northern Road, sold by its original owners Bob and Anna Cummings to Lori and Drew Fata in 2015.

“I remember getting doughnuts here when I was a little girl,” Lori smiled, speaking to SooToday after we dropped in to buy some doughnuts for our newsroom staff and drop off a pair of spiffy SooToday coffee mugs.

The entrepreneurial spirit, and, it seems, a love for producing delicious baked goods (as well as playing professional hockey), runs in the Fata family.

Lori co-owns Superior with her husband Drew Fata, along with Drew’s parents Rico and Karen Fata.

Drew’s brother Rico Jr. (a former NHLer) and his wife Romina own and operate Tim Hortons at Boundary and Trunk Road.

“I used to be a teacher in the Sault and I also taught overseas, then after my husband retired from hockey (having played for the NHL’s New York Islanders, various teams in the AHL, as well as in Norway and the UK), we wanted to put down roots here, wanting to own something locally, whether we started something up or bought something, so then Superior came up for sale and we thought it was a great opportunity,” Lori said.

“We’ve tried our best to maintain everything the way it was, that’s what the customers like and we don’t want to change things that work.”

“We’d like to thank the regular customers and our staff for being patient with the transition and accepting us and allowing us to carry on the Superior tradition, and for shopping at a locally-owned business,” Lori said.

“Customers come in here daily for fresh bread and doughnuts. We have a great staff here and we have great customers who come in here every day and support us. Its something we had to learn along the way, but we enjoy being in this atmosphere with the staff and customers.”

“Its a great little environment here,” Lori said.

Superior’s bakers come in between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., baking bread and doughnuts so that everything is fresh and ready for sale by 8:30 a.m. 

Morning and lunch are Superior’s busiest times of day, as the business also offers deli sandwiches, made fresh on the spot for customers.

“I enjoy this because our customers leave happy with smiles on their faces,” Lori said.

By the way, for those of you who have always wondered who or what is on the Superior building’s second storey (an add-on to the original single storey structure), Lori answered it isn’t office space or apartments.

“That’s actually where we make our doughnuts, pastries and cakes, and the bread baking and buns are in the back of the first floor.”

Now you know!