Kelly’s Bake Shop

Our reason for stopping in Alma was simple: the sticky buns. Years ago, I visited Kelly’s Bake Shop with my daughter, and the memory stayed with me. This year, I returned with my husband to introduce him to the bakery and its famous specialty. Returning gave me the opportunity to share a place from an earlier family trip and create another memory there.

Kelly’s Bake Shop has become a longstanding landmark in this small community on the Bay of Fundy. Although it offers homemade breads, pies, and other baked goods, its sticky buns are its best-known creation. Their reputation reaches beyond Alma, and the regional tourism association highlights them as the bakery’s signature attraction.

Behind that reputation is the story of Miriam Kelly, who developed the buns. An account based on information supplied by her son traces their origins to an older recipe for “spudnuts,” doughnut-like buns made with mashed potatoes. In 1957, the year the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, Miriam considered naming her treats “Spudniks.” The potato preparation proved time-consuming, so she changed the dough recipe and called the resulting creation a sticky bun.

The bakery’s sign proudly announces “Home of the Sticky Bun,” while the trays in the display case show the specialty that has drawn generations of customers. For some travelers, Kelly’s is a discovery made while passing through Alma. For others, it becomes a reason to return.

For me, the bakery now connects two visits: one with my daughter years ago and another with my husband this year. A small bake shop and a familiar treat became a thread between those journeys, giving us a personal connection to Alma.