Bakery staff Tom Chownds (L), Ivy Ellis and Erin Barry with co-owner Giada Peloso (second from right). Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Mountain Creek Wholefoods at Griffith shops is a Canberra institution with more than 40 years of history serving the community.
The shop was founded as a holistic health food store, stocking bulk foods, supplements, and other products associated with meditation, yoga and naturopathy.
The shop was recently purchased by Giada Peloso and her husband Ignace Diompy, who are also the duo behind the L’epi Bakery stores around Canberra’s South, as well as Crust at the Fyshwick Markets. Giada told Region they were looking for a new challenge.
“We wanted to diversify our offering, and add something different to the business,” she said.
“And we have a personal interest in healthy eating and good food, so this was a perfect match for us.”
During several weeks of renovation, Giada said some regulars were a bit concerned about the changes being made to their beloved local store. There is now a small bakery cafe attached to the store in a room previously used for lifestyle products and, fortunately, the locals seem very happy to have them there.
Mountain Creek Wholefoods was established in 1977. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Learning to run a retail shop in addition to their bakeries was a big learning curve, as Giada needed to get a handle on a shop with more than 8000 products, 12 suppliers and lots of new challenges. Fortunately, most of the Mountain Creek staff have stayed on board which has eased the transition. And having access to organic products is a bonus for the bakery business too.
“We’ve now transitioned to using organic flour at all of our stores,” Giada said.
“And we’re looking at maybe stocking some of the products in our other stores, like the nut spreads we make here or some of the bulk products.”
They have also noticed that the demographic at Mountain Creek is more health conscious and engaged with what goes into their food: Giada has found herself on the phone to the bakers double checking that yes, the meat in the pie is free-range, and passing on feedback about developing more vegan and gluten-free products.
It’s prompted them to think about adding more options for people with dietary requirements in all their stores.
Bulk foods, health products, natural supplements and other organic lifestyle products are available at Mountain Creek Wholefoods. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
While they are eager to make sure they honour what has made the store so beloved, the pair also see a lot of potential in the Mountain Creek space. They’re hoping to reinstate the vegetarian kitchen which once operated from the store, to make ready meals for customers to take home.
They’re also looking to increase the consultation capacity of the naturopath practitioners who use the space.
Giada said the biggest reason she and Ignace were able to take on this new challenge was through the support of family and their staff.
“When we started, Ignace knew all about the bakery and production side of things, and I did all the ‘boring’ work: the admin, staffing, front of house and lots behind the scenes. It was a good pairing of skills, I think, but now we have more staff who we can trust, so we are able to step back and look at the bigger picture to grow the business.”
Mountain Creek Wholefoods and Bakery is located at Griffith Shops, 14 Barker Street, Griffith. They are open every day except public holidays during the festive season. Follow Mountain Creek Wholefoods and Bakery on Instagram.
