KUB Bakery, founded in 1923, posted a note on the front door of its West End store on Erin Street on Tuesday, announcing it will close its doors on Wednesday. News of the bakery’s sudden closure traveled quickly, and many people turned up late Tuesday afternoon to buy a few more loaves of the bakery’s signature rye bread. “A lot of people read the sign on the front door. They loaded up because they knew it might be the last time they got KUB bread, so we sold out [Tuesday]KUB Bakery production manager Ross Einfeld told CBC News. Originally the plan was to keep the bakery open all week and possibly into next week, but after both oven burners failed, the decision was made to pull the plug on the 99-year-old business, which was first established in the city’s North End. Thirty employees lost their jobs, but Einfeld called bakeries trying to find work for his staff. He plans to retire, with his mind full of good memories, including KUB supporting the largest social gathering ever – the Manitoba Homecoming. Einfeld, who ran the bakery with his brother and sister, said there were several factors that contributed to KUB’s closing, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a porous labor market. Before the pandemic, many Winnipeg restaurants used products from KUB. The Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Winnipeg Goldeyes also served food featuring bread made at the bakery, including the leg-free hot dog buns used for the Jumbo Jet Dog. Business with those partners has been dead for two years, Einfeld said. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February was another gut punch for KUB when Russian troops seized some grain shipping ports in Ukraine, affecting global markets. KUB Bakery employee with dough in 2008. (CBC) “And because of the war in Ukraine, the price of grain went up astronomically,” Einfeld said. “It’s still basically double what it was before the war.” To make matters worse, a poor job market — “I’ve never seen it this bad in my life” — only added to the bakery’s struggles. Einfeld says in recent months he’s hired employees who either didn’t show up for shifts or quit after just a few hours. WATCHES | From the archives: Ross Einfeld of KUB Bakery on the impact of rising flour costs in 2008:
From the archives: Ross Einfeld of KUB Bakery on the impact of rising flour costs in 2008.
KUB Bakery announced the closure on Tuesday, saying the past few years have been very difficult for business. The bakery was featured in this 2008 feature from The National as the price of wheat rose dramatically due to demand for bread products in non-traditional markets. Despite the difficult decision to close, one hopes someone buys KUB so its tradition can continue. He had a deal in place, but it recently fell through. The bakery was founded by a group of four entrepreneurs, one of whom was Alex Kucher, in 1923. Kucher bought out his partners a few years later and renamed it Kucher’s Ukrainian Bakery. The Einfeld family bought KUB in 1982, but neither Einfeld’s children nor his brothers’ children wanted to stay in the family business.
