Over the years, many local shops, cafes and bakeries have closed their doors for economic or other reasons, leaving local residents with a feeling of lost nostalgia.
For bread and pastry lovers, one bakery’s decision to shut down sent gastronomical shockwaves reverberating throughout a Suva community.
For residents who grew up in the Raiwaqa and Raiwai area during the early 2000s, many would remember the famous Raiwaqa Bakery located along Grantham Rd near the corner of Falvey Rd.
The bakery was famous for churning out fresh bread and pastries which often brought a steady throng of locals to Raiwaqa to get a taste of its goodness.
Considered one of the top bakeries in Fiji, the place holds a special place in the hearts of many generations of families who grew up in the area.
Despite the bakery being closed since 2014, the memory of its bread and pastry offerings still lives on in the hearts of its loyal customers.
Bakery owner, Atela Yee said she started the bakery with just a pocket full of dreams and self-belief.
Born in Saqani, Vanua Levu, with maternal links to Kadavu, she said she struggled running her business as a young mother.
Although she had very limited qualifications and knowledge on how to run a business, Ms Yee did not let her circumstances stop her from opening the bakery.
“To start the bakery was the only option at the time in 1999 as I was a high school dropout with no qualifications,” she said.
“I saw that starting my own business was the only option I had.
“The excitement of entering a new location and the thrill of facing new challenges and brainstorming on how to make it work.”
The 56-year-old said her strong work ethic and determination to run her own business came from watching her late father work multiple jobs to provide for the family.
Ms Yee said her father, who originally came from China in 1995, started his first business out of the back of an old truck with only $500 in his pocket.
“He instilled in me the value of always working hard and saving money – which was what gave me the drive to start my business.”
Ms Yee said her children all grew up helping around the bakery during the early years of the business.
“I have six children and they all helped one way or another in the bakery from working as cashier or baking.
“Now they have all grown and are very independent.”
She was often faced with many challenges as a young business owner, one included financing the business and keeping it afloat.
“We started Raiwaqa Bakery like any entrepreneur to create a business in order to bring in some income while serving the community with a product that they may need.
“The challenge we faced was competition as we had bakeries within metres away from our location.
“And also financially, we had to operate with minimum capital as a start up.
“Figuring out what people would need from a bakery and working a plan to accommodate that helped with building the business.”
Ms Yee said juggling being a mother and business owner was tough, but she managed to do it with her children by her side.
“Juggling both roles as a mother and a father took some planning and getting everyone involved, yes including the childrenand the house fairy.
“I always think of my kids first, my health and then the rest should fall into place.
“We had our meals done, after school chores lists and most importantly time management and everything was scheduled.
“Disciplining the kids to follow through when the home is organised – that gave me some piece of mind while I took on the challenge of running the business.
“I would tell my younger self – it will be ‘OK’ that I am not alone and to remove the fears of failure and ask for mentorship.”
Agnes Cataki, a resident of Raiwaqa for more than 20 years, shared fond memories of her afternoon strolls to the bakery to buy fresh bread for her siblings.
“Every morning and afternoon, it was sort of a norm for people in the area to buy bread at the Raiwaqa Bakery,” she said.
“The freshly baked bread complimented with a hot cup of tea and Rewa Butter was my favourite.
“There was always a long line towards the afternoon around 6pm as residents from Vatuwaqa, Raiwaqa, Raiwai and also people would
stop on their way home to pick up some fresh hot bread.”
She said her friends would often meet on their way to the bakery and have a good talanoa session to catch up on stories from the week.
“Outside the bakery we would meet friends or neighbours we haven’t seen in a while and we’d greet each other and have a good catch up.
“The old Raiwaqa Bakery will always be one of the places I miss because of the memories we had of it growing up, and because it was something this place was sort of famous for.”
Today, Ms Yee employs more than 100 people and still runs Raiwaqa Bakery.
She is also the owner of ‘Coffee Shotz’ located in Nausori.
“We have diversified to having a coffee shop next to our bakery in Nausori called Coffee Shotz and this is now turning into a café and coffee shop concept.
“Plans to increase seating capacity and introducing more dishes in the menu after the closure of the Nasese branch as the property was sold to a new owner.”
Ms Yee said they had opened a new shop next to Lami Kava at Nukuwatu St, Lami and one at the main Marine Drive.
“We are working on a Flagstaff location which hopefully will open in April if plans falls into place.
“Operating Raiwaqa Bakery and Coffee Shotz as a solo mom owned business, I would like to thank all our customers for all the support and the confidence they have for us”.
Her message to entrepreneurs looking to starting their own business is to “learn to say no and live within your means”.
“My message is to do research as what is best for your situation at the moment while working towards your dreams.
“Start small and one that will cater a large volume of the market and grow from there.”
