smart | work Te Urban Bakery’s fresh new digs double as


an event promotion and meeting space Store owner Kevin Trosky co-owns Greenroom and Union Sound Hall nightclub venues with his longtime friends By Brenlee Coates


T


UB, or more formally Te Urban Bakery, is a great place to shop – but it’s so much more than a retail destination.


Te owner Kevin Trosky and his band of brothers throw


parties, sell tickets for events and co-own some of the city’s best nightclubs. “Before all of this, we’re all just homies,” says TUB man-


ager, Lonnie Ce, who co-owns and DJs at Union Sound Hall. “We’re all involved in different street culture and music and different scenes.” Because of this, Te Urban Bakery is always playing the


tightest jams, screening movies on its walls, and carrying handbills and selling tickets for all kinds of events at any given time – and not just their own. “We’re always down to support,” says Ce. Maybe that’s what’s set TUB apart since its inception


15 years ago; its community involvement, which has only expanded since Trosky and his “homies” branched out into other ventures. Trosky co-owns Union along with Ce and a smattering


of other local musicians, DJs and promoters, as well as Greenroom. And TUB hasn’t suffered any neglect – in fact, the store just


reopened in a brand-new, fully renovated space at 407 Gra- ham Ave. TUB’s very first location was on Graham, and after calling Portage Avenue home for many years, the shop is back to its roots but with a new concept for retail in Winnipeg. Te shop has a backlane entrance – a first for downtown


– inspired by a trend in Vancouver’s Gastown. Te store’s original setup is in line with what TUB tries


to do with its inventory – keep things fresh and exclusive. “We try to feature lines that you can’t see anywhere else,”


says Ce, who is also a buyer for the store. “It’s difficult to get people downtown sometimes, but we try to make it… more of a destination.” In recent years, Ce has noticed some of the brands TUB


carried at their onset grow, and it is always looking to feature new brands to help them get their start. One such line, Te Peg Authentic, a kind of patriotic Win-


nipeg brand, is newly exclusively available at TUB. “Main- stream culture and malls and everything kind of caught up, so we had to step ahead again,” says Ce. TUB is still the best place to find brands like Stussy, Raised


By Wolves and Publish Brand – lines that are recognizable though not widely available in the city. And it is still without a doubt one of the best places to get


sneakers in the city; and now the shoes are prominently displayed on a hand-laid wooden wall custom-built by the shop owner and his father. “All the renovations were pretty much done by Kevin and


his 75-year-old father, and they pretty much did everything by hand,” says Ce.


Stussy and Obey Clothing on display at the shop. Impressively, the shoe display is not the only pictur-


esque element of the store. In fact, everything is terribly photogenic down to the


front counter, which is a slab of wood Trosky found at a lumber store and overnight, he turned into a beau- tifully gleaming, suspended counter that hangs from the ceiling by cables. Tough the back entrance distinguishes the store,


the front entrance is also unique: a narrow hallway entrance peppered with shop posters that leads into the section of the store that’s devoted to a head shop. Two wall-to-wall glass cases display smoking para- phernalia, and cans of spray paint are propped on the


The custom shoe wall takes centre stage at TUB.


opposing walls. Te head shop leads into the retail side which has all


the exclusive brands of T-shirts, hoodies, hats, toques and sneakers to help set you apart. Te stock hasn’t undergone a major transformation,


but everything about the store feels revived, ultra- modern and new. “It was super refreshing,” says Ce, of the move.


“People are enjoying the new space – everyone’s happy.” Not least of which are Trosky and Ce’s business partners, who headquarter their nightclub’s offices underneath the Graham store. “It’s the best,” says Ce, of the setup.


Is it time to call in for reinforcements at work? T


Getting support as a leader is not a sign of weakness – it shows you’re invested in your job and the company


oday’s business environment is fast- paced, and the need to have top per- formers in an organization is critical.


We often talk about the impor- tance of a good-functioning team; a team that works well together, understands the com- pany’s objectives, and knows how each of their performances and deliverables affect those objectives. As leaders, we know that


we need to set clear goals and work with our teams so that they have the skillset and any additional support they need from us to get the job done well. But what about us? What


about the executive leaders? When do we get to call in for help and support? Executive coaching is not a


rather than later. Having an extra ear to share what you are going through can alleviate the pressure that may be based on simply a change in culture or your new- ness to an organization. Is it lonely at the top?


You know going to your


board or to your president isn’t really an option – they hired you to lead and too much can- dor, questions and requests for a sounding board could send the wrong message. Yes, your partner loves hear-


Good Work Lisa Cefali


sign of weakness, nor should it be introduced as a solution to a situation that is past its date of survival. It should be a proactive approach to your own leadership abilities that will only propel yourself and the organization further along the current successful course you are on. With the competitive landscape of business


today, even as a leader, getting help is not a bad thing. Ask yourself the following questions, and if you can relate to the scenarios, then it could be beneficial to enlist the help of an executive coach. Do you feel the pressure to succeed? You know what is expected of you, and you know you need to show true impact sooner


November 2014


ing about your day as you do about his/hers, but would you not want to share ideas and concerns, and gain some objec- tivity and insight from someone who has been there before you – and whose sole purpose is to listen and offer support with the


intent to help make you and your organization stronger? Do you have an established network? Most of us have a personal support network


to bounce ideas off of; however, creating a similar network within your business network is not always possible. Seeking out an execu- tive coach allows you to start a practice that you can keep building and strengthening as you move through your career. It can assist you with the more difficult decisions in the future – like your next career change, your next promotion, and your eventual transition into retirement. In our personal lives, we all seek out other professionals to assist us with many aspects of


We accept the help of knowledgeable professionals in many facets of life. Photo by Ed Uthman.


our lives, whether it is the day-to-day errands that allow us some form of work-life balance, the assistance of a professional to complete the big jobs around the house – like a new roof, or installing an addition to the house – or repairing the car after the damage it sustained during the first snowfall. We also know that there are professionals


who are there to assist us when we need help (doctors, hairstylists, dentists) or when we need that extra push to really excel (personal trainers). So why not accept the assistance of an


www.smartbizwpg.com


executive coach – an individual who has had true leadership experience, who has lived through some of your own career challenges, and is there to ride alongside you as you lead? Lisa Cefali is the vice president of executive


search with Legacy Bowes where she uses her many years of competitive intelligence, re- cruitment, and assessment of emotional intel- ligence experience to uncover those attributes that provide for the best organizational fit for her candidates and clients. Please feel free to contact her at lisa@legacybowes.com for your executive search and recruitment need.


Smart Biz 7 The back-alley entrance to The Urban Bakery on Graham Avenue. Photo by Khammy Photography.


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