A Russian Bakery In Vancouver Has Temporarily Changed Its Name After It 'Received Threats'
They have raised over $600 for Unicef’s Ukrainian Emergency Fund.
The outside of the Russian Spoon bakery in Vancouver, B.C.
A Russian bakery in Vancouver, B.C. has changed its name after it allegedly received threats amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The small business was previously called the Russian Spoon Bakery and claimed that they received threats over the phone since the conflict escalated.
Now, according to CTV, the bakery has changed its name. The change is reportedly temporary, but for now, the bakery will just be called Spoon.
The bakery, located in Harbour Centre food court, has been opened for nine years and serves both Russian and Ukrainian food.
Natalia Mitrofanova, who runs the bakery, told Narcity in an email that they had received "bad phone calls with swearing" at the beginning of March.
According to Mitrofanova, some of these calls were not in English, so she couldn't understand them.
"One of these calls was in a very mad Ukrainian language, I couldn't understand it and gave the phone to listen to my Ukrainian employee. She said it was swearing as well," Mitrofanova said at the time.
Mitrofanov said that people on the phone made statements like: "Go to Russia!"
She added that the situation has been difficult emotionally, but they are using cooking as a way "to get away from this stress."
In order to support Ukrainian families during the conflict, the bakery has been raising money to donate to UNICEF’s Ukrainian Emergency Fund.
They have raised over $644 so far, and are still donating part of their sales to the cause.
Mitrofanova told CTV in an interview that most of her staff at the bakery are immigrants, including a Ukrainian refugee. She said that she appreciates the community support that they are all receiving.