Sunnyside Bakery: The Taste You Dream About

It’s day four for the staff at the Sunny Side Bakery at its new location and business is just as plentiful as ever. The family-owned bakery has been in the process of relocating for several years and finally, during the week of the death anniversary of late owner Elon Pitterson, the new bakery is here. News Five’s Britney Gordon visited the bakery today to hear how the family is keeping that same great taste and quality after nearly seventy years of service.

 

Britney Gordon

“You made the trip all the way here today to get something even though the old location is near your house. So why did you come all the way here to get them?”

 

Ashly Cole, Customer

“Because Sunny and Tan is the best and always been the best from ever since from I was a little boy. And I was born in what, 1958 and I start go to Sunny from I was about five years old.”

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Customers are waiting to enter Sunny Side Bakery in Belize City, also known as the famous Sunny and Tan Bakery. It’s only been four days since the bakery opened the doors of its new location, and already, the loyal customers are back and for good reason.  The Sunny Side Bakery is one of Belize’s oldest and most beloved bakeries in the old capital. Zebedee Pitterson started the business in 1959, and today, his granddaughters Elony and Christiana Pitterson are carrying on his legacy.

 

Elony Pitterson, Manager, Sunny Side Bakery

“This family business is very important to me because from when my grandfather had it was, he was doing really great and it was something for me and my sister to look up to. So that’s why both of us wanted to continue the bakery.”

 

Britney Gordon

“So growing up in a baking family, do you feel that influenced your love for the craft of baking? Is it something that you take pride in doing?”

 

Elony Pitterson

“Yes, it is something that I take pride in doing because ever since I was about eight years old I have always been in the bakery with my dad doing pastries after school learning to make pastries, so it’s something that I really love.”

 

The bakery offers a variety of pastries such as cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and cakes, but it is the Sunny and Tan bread and buns that Belizeans cannot get enough of.  Norman Melton, a customer that has been coming to the bakery since he was a child says that he just can’t get bread like this anywhere else.

 

Norman Melton, Customer

“Well, I used to go there because they got the best bread, you know, and Sunny and Tan bread is nicer than everybody else bread. So we want the best all the time for our money. We don’t want bread that we buy it today, tomorrow it done look spoil, jun de pon you know. But for them bread could last you three, four days before it gets spoiled or hard.”

 

Elon Petterson, the son of Zebedee Pitterson, was at the forefront of thebusiness for decades. It was his dream to take the bakery to a new location so he designed the new store himself. However, Elon died of a heart attack in 2021, so it was up to his wife and children to make his dreams a reality. Christiana Pitterson tells us that it is a bittersweet feeling to see her father’s dreams accomplished without him.

 

Christiana Pitterson, Manager, Sunny Side Bakery

“It was his dream. He wanted to relocate the bakery. So when suddenly my dad passed away while he was renovating it. So this was mostly like a shell, but we had the design and the idea of what he wanted. And so now we’re here in this beautiful bakery and making his dream come to life. We’re very excited that we we’ve opened up the bakery. This is our fourth day opening and we have an amazing customer base who love the building, love the location, even our products, so we’re very grateful for them again.  lastly too, I want to say thank God for giving us health and strength for us to continue this legacy as well.”

 

Sunny Side Bakery, at its core, remains a family business. And it is the love that each member has for the craft and for their customers that keeps people coming back for years to come.

Britney Gordon

“How long have you been going to the other location?”

 

Rupert Robinson, Former Employee

“Oh, man, many, many. I used to work for mister Pitterson himself, the boss.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And what was that experience like for you? How was he as a person?”

 

Rupert Robinson

“He was a very good guy. Good gentleman. He had his wife. He had his two sons and he had a daughter and I usually was a good boss to me in the 1990s.”

 

Britney Gordon

“And so you feel good to come out and support the family that’s trying to continue his legacy?”

 

Rupert Robinson

“Well, I know that the family was torn apart by death of the father and one of the son so I’m trying to support them.”

 

Pitterson says that despite the change in location, business has been booming just as much as ever and she is grateful for the people that continue to enjoy the food after so many years.

 

Britney Gordon

“Do you feel that the customers have really been turning up to your doors now that you’ve moved here? Or have you noticed like maybe a dip as people get used to the new location?”

 

Christiana Petterson

“No, there’s been a great increase in customers. It has been amazing. So again, we’re very grateful for it.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.