Bolton British Bites celebrates a year in business

By Zachary Roman

It's not often that a business celebrates its grand opening and one-year anniversary on the same weekend.

But that's what happened at Bolton British Bites, located at 62 Queen St. South, on June 24 and 25.

Owner Nicola Kreuzwiesner explained that since she opened her store with business partner Glenn Allen in the middle of a pandemic, the official ribbon-cutting ceremony with Caledon's Mayor Allan Thompson had to be delayed.

And it just so happened Thompson's visit ended up coinciding with the businesses' one-year anniversary weekend.

Thompson visited on June 24 for the grand opening ceremony, and British Bites held a one-year anniversary celebration barbeque on June 25.

Kreuzwiesner was born in Norwich, England, and moved to Canada when she was eight years old. She has lived in Bolton since the 1980s and went to Humberview High School.

She jokes that nobody believes she's from Norwich because she doesn't have an accent. Even though she moved to Canada at a young age, Kreuzwiesner said she was raised on British food and was always going out to British stores in the GTA to get it.

Before British Bites, Kreuzwiesner and Allen were working together in the restaurant industry. They were looking for a new business opportunity, and Allen — who Kreuzwiesner said is a phenomenal chef — really wanted to focus on hand pies.

“I said to him, we can't really open a place just making hand pies, so how about I put a little British shop in and just carry a few products to try to bring people in that way as well. And the British part has kind of taken off,” said Kreuzwiesner.

And taken off it has. Kreuzwiesner explained she wanted to start small with the business, thinking of long-term success. She originally stocked around 100 different products. Since opening, she has done her best to accommodate requests for products from customers, and now boasts an inventory of around 500 products.

She also keeps a running list where people can request the import of specific items.

“It's been fantastic, It's been more than we expected,” said Kreuzwiesner. She's always trying to learn more about British products and share that information with customers, and said customers often teach her new things too. 

“We get more than just British people in here… most people, when they try the chocolate or try the candy, they come back,” said Kreuzwiesner. “The big difference between British goods and Canadian goods is even in the candy… there is no artificial colours or flavours. Everything is done with fruit and vegetable concentrate.”

It's not just about the sweets and treats at British Bites either, as Kreuzwiesner brings in frozen British products like pasties, bacon and sausages. And Allen's hand pies, while not actually British, can be cooked at home or at the store.

“We get people in here from Brampton, I get people from Woodbridge, I get people from King City. I get people from (all over) Caledon. I've had somebody come in here from Mississauga looking for our hand pies because somebody in their lunch room was eating one and they were saying how good it was. And they drove all the way from Mississauga to come pick them up, they picked up 20 of them,” said Kreuzwiesner. “It's a slow, long process to get your name out there and get established as a business. But we're hoping by starting small and growing it that we'll do it right, rather than the other way around, not being able to cover bills. So, we plan to be here for a long time.”