It started as the baker's heart and passion for serving the community.
Friends & Family Bake is a registered, VIHA-approved, locally owned bake shop in Victoria, making authentic Filipino breads and pastries alongside western baked goods.
The first batch was sold by a friend, to her friends.
In the beginning, one of the bakery's friends helped sell the very first batch of baked goods through the help of her friends. It grew little by little from there, and the friendships grew with it — people who bought bread regularly and then went out and told other people about it.
That is where the name comes from, and the shop has never pretended otherwise. In their own words: "We are very grateful for Friends who treated us like a Family, encouraged and supported us in this journey. We would never be here without God and their help along with the support of the whole community."
Today that counter sits in Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest commercial street in Canada, in Victoria's Chinatown — along Pandora Avenue, a few steps from the Government-Pandora bus stop.
Together We Can “Bake” This World a Better Place
A share of the proceeds goes to Bais, Dumaguete.
Part of the proceeds of Friends & Family Bake Corporation goes to the Zoe Children's Home Foundation in Bais, Dumaguete, in the Philippines — helping children who cannot afford school supplies, and supporting their other needs as well.
The shop's reasoning for it is plain: "We strongly believe that life is about caring for oneself and others in any way that we could. Helping and serving people is what keeps us going with the help of Friends and Family around us. Our aim is to serve and help more people in the community through our business."
They credit the other business owners around them too — "working hand in hand with other fellow business owners lifting each other help us achieving this goal."
A few dates the shop marked itself.
Each of these was posted by the bakery on its own Instagram.
- 18 February 2024
- First year anniversary, celebrated together with Chinese New Year. Buy 2 get 1 free on breads, pastries and delicacies, and a free blessing bag for the first eleven customers to share with their own friends and families.
- 21 January 2025
- Back to serve after a period away. "Thank You for your messages, calls & patience while we were away… Maraming Maraming Salamat po."
- 5 March 2026
- Third year anniversary, and thanks to the community for stepping in over what had happened to the shop's Google business page.
- 12 May 2026
- New operating hours posted: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 7 PM, closed Sunday and Monday.
The wall of notes was never a design decision.
There is a world map on the wall by the little café table. It is more or less invisible now, buried under layers of sticky notes people have left behind. Nobody art-directed it; customers simply started leaving them.
The rest of the room reads the same way — framed permits, a Philippine flag and a Canadian flag, wooden letters spelling FFB, a "Bless your heart" sign, and every single tray tagged in the same shade of yellow.
See what's on those traysCome by and say hello.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 7 PM. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Directions and landmarksVictoria, BC V8W 1W3
Along Pandora Ave, near the Government-Pandora bus stop