Realizing a dream

Karen Stevens made Stappho's Bakery a booming success

When Karen Stevens moved to New Denver from Vancouver Island in 1978, she noticed there was no bakery in town and thought it would be a good business to start. Earning a living took precedence, however, and for the next 22 years she took jobs as a truck driver, mill worker, snowplough operator and stonemason’s assistant.

The dream never left, however, and she enrolled in the Malaspina College baking program. In 2004, Stevens remodelled her house and opened Sappho’s Bakery in what used to be her living room.

With a small retail area that is thronged with tourists in the summer, and a number of restaurant and retail contracts, she keeps busy year round producing mouth-watering, made-from-scratch breads, sweets and pizza.

Sappho’s Bakery is located at 309 Kildare St., New Denver. Phone: 250-358-2119.