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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4018582_web1_260227-Bread-Box-00127.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
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Ida Albo, owner and managing partner of the Bread Box, the retail bake shop that had a soft opening on Wednesday and celebrated its grand opening on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Guests have booked stays at the hotel specifically to stock up on the b\u00e2tard (an oval or oblong loaf), Albo said, adding she\u2019s excited to finally share the Fort Garry\u2019s food beyond the hotel\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought maybe we can help animate downtown and \u2026 open up a little bakery and extend our offerings more to the general public,\u201d Albo said.<\/p>\n
The 500-square-foot shop employs two people and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Items from the shop will be available on online food delivery services soon, according to Albo.<\/p>\n
Hotel staff have been making bread by hand for more than three decades. Bagels, baguettes, focaccia and croissants are a few of the items available for sale, plus cookies and muffins that were previously only available at Ten Spa in the hotel.<\/p>\n
The first two days in business have been good, Albo said Friday morning. \u201cWe have some very, very loyal clientele and they\u2019ve been popping in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Customers have also come in from the neighbouring businesses Albo owns \u2014 Yoga Public, which opened in 2012, and TenSkin Rx, a skincare clinic that opened last year. The Manitoba M\u00e9tis Federation owns the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought maybe we can help animate downtown and \u2026 open up a little bakery and extend our offerings more to the general public.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe space has a fabulous buzz right now because now we\u2019ve animated the whole main floor,\u201d Albo said. \u201cWe have a caf\u00e9 on the left; we have a facial and manicure-pedicure bar on the right; and then we have a 15,000-sq.-ft. yoga studio right behind. We\u2019re really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albo\u2019s employees have added signage bearing a tagline that she says reflects all three businesses: \u201cWellness lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a few more ideas up our sleeve along that line and we\u2019ll slowly trickle out those ideas through the rest of the year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Manitoba M\u00e9tis Federation is happy to have Albo opening another business in its building, said Lorne Pelletier, MMF senior economic adviser.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important to be activating the space through different service offerings, different businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so Ida is a tremendous partner in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MMF purchased the building from Albo a few years ago for an undisclosed amount. The federation is looking for tenants for the building\u2019s second and third floors, Pelletier said, whether it\u2019s government agencies or private businesses.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Bread Box menu includes the Fort Garry Hotel\u2019s organic sourdough b\u00e2tard and country loaf, made using a 13-year-old wild Manitoba grape starter.<\/p>\n \u201c(We\u2019re) always looking for our partner tenants in the business community to bring forward activities and offerings that create and contribute to a vibrant downtown Winnipeg,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Bread Box isn\u2019t the only new offering Albo has in the works. The first floor of the Fort Garry Hotel is currently undergoing a $1-million renovation that is scheduled to open in April.<\/p>\n Albo describes the \u201cexecutive floor\u201d as a five-star hotel within the four-star hotel. Once completed, the first floor will include 12 guest rooms, three suites and an executive lounge with bar, table and lounge seating for 36.<\/p>\n The executive floor is accessible only to guests staying on that floor and has its own concierge.<\/p>\n Although not officially open yet, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his security team spent two nights on the executive floor during the Grey Cup festivities in November.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was an opportunity in the market for a kind of next-level experience for people that were looking,\u201d Albo said of the decision to upgrade the first floor. The security and the amount of space makes it ideal for private events and group retreats, she added.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The Bread Box’s 500-square-foot shop at 280 Fort St. employs two people and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n The Fort Garry Hotel opened in December 1913. Approximately 80,000 people stay at the hotel annually, according to Maria Cefali, marketing director.<\/p>\n aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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