Selling good food for generations

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/07/2012 (4848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THEY’RE as synonymous with the North End as Winnipeg socials, kubasa and rye bread, and they’re both celebrating milestone anniversaries this year.

Winnipeg Old Country Sausage and its predecessor, Manitoba Sausage, have been churning out bologna, wieners and kubasa (garlic sausage) — its three most popular products — for the past 100 years from the same location at 691 Dufferin Ave.

And three blocks north and seven blocks east, at 247 Selkirk Ave., Gunn’s Bakery has been pumping out bagels, breads, sweets and other ethnic baked goods for the last 75 years.

Although they’ve been located within blocks of one another for the better part of a century, Old Country Sausage owner Ken Werner and Gunn’s co-owner Arthur Gunn said they don’t really know each other and don’t really have any business dealings together, either.

Part of the reason is Gunn’s specializes in kosher baked goods, while Old Country’s offerings include bacon and other pork products. So on the face of it, not a good mix.

But Werner said whenever Old Country throws a going-away party for an employee, it orders the cake from Gunn’s.

Werner and Arthur and Bernie Gunn (Arthur’s brother) are second-generation owners of their companies.

Werner has been running Old Country Sausage since 1999, although he’s been working with the company and Manitoba Sausage, which it acquired in 1982, for more than 40 years.

And the Gunn brothers have been calling the shots over at their family bakery since 1973, when their father, Morris, died.

Both businesses also boast many second-generation customers — people who grew up eating their products and are now buying them for their families.

“Our niche is that we cater to people who want something traditional that brings some old feelings back for them,” Arthur Gunn said.

But it’s not just tradition that keeps Gunn’s Bakery and Old Country Sausage’s customers coming back for more.

One of Old Country’s most loyal customers is the owner of another North End institution — Kelekis Restaurant. Mary Kelekis said Thursday her family has been buying wieners from Old Country for decades because they like how they taste.

She said when a fire temporarily closed the Dufferin Avenue plant — she couldn’t remember exactly when — they tried wieners from two or three other suppliers. But their products couldn’t hold a candle to Old Country’s when it came to taste.

“We were so glad when they reopened,” she said. “They’re very good people and they look after us well. I hope they keep going (for many more years).”

Werner and Arthur Gunn are quick to admit one of the secrets to their success is the family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. It’s what helped to win over customers in the early years, and they believe it’s what keeps them coming back.

“My dad used to say, ‘Put junk in, get junk out,’ ” Werner said. “So we don’t use byproducts in our wieners and bologna — only beef and pork trim.”

Old Country also burns sawdust in its smokehouse, instead of firewood. Werner said it gives the meat a milder, smoky taste than most of the other smoked meats on the market.

While both businesses remain faithful to those original family recipes, Gunn and Werner said they’re also open to experimenting with new recipes and new products that cater to changing consumer tastes.

Whatever they’re doing, the Manitoba director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said both companies should be proud of the fact they’re still going strong after so many years.

“This is rare, and it’s such a cause for celebration,” Janine Carmichael said.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca