Appetite for young Kamloops entrepreneur's sweet baked treats on the rise
A new baking business is booming in Kamloops, and the father and son team behind it are racing to keep up to demand for their tasty baked treats.
Evan Easterbrook, 12, had a paper route that ended when Kamloops This Week shut down in late October. It was around the same time his dad Geoff was temporarily laid off from his job at the railroad.
“Evan wanted to keep working and earning money so at first we tried a few different ideas,” Geoff said. “He likes my cooking and one day I asked what we should make to sell and he said cookies.”
The pair turned their kitchen into a bakery called Sticky Fingers, but what started as small father and son project has quickly ballooned into a full-time job for Geoff, thanks to an enormous response from the community.
“I put some posts on social media and it went insane,” he said. “Meeting people has been fantastic, the response is insane, we’ve been running around with our heads in the clouds. Every day is exciting and everybody has a story about baking to share with us.”
The bakery goodies are all made from Evan’s grandmother’s recipes with the fan favourites being Nanaimo bars and maple fudge.
Evan is working on the bakery biz around school while dad is working full-time on it, baking and taking orders. Evan’s sibling is going to start delivering and doing the shopping just so they can keep up.
Geoff has no idea how big the venture will get or what decisions may need to be made when he returns to work in the spring. He’s thinking of making things like rum balls for New Year's Eve and has some ideas for Valentine’s Day in the works.
He’s enjoying working with his son.
“He’s always been ambitious, it’s been fun to watch,” Geoff said. “I guess a lesson here is things don’t happen when you sit on the sidelines, change happens when you put your ideas into action.”
Go here for more information on Sticky Fingers and to place an order.
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