The most important part of a home is its foundation, similar to the foundation of a family. Values, respect and putting in a hard day’s work are all learned from the family matriarch and patriarch.

At 91 years old, Antonio Musumeci is the patriarch of the Musumeci family. He still pays a daily visit to their family bakery, Pâtisserie St-Martin, seven days a week.  Antonio opened Aurora Bakery on Papineau Street in 1956. This is how his son Joey Sr., owner of Patisserie St-Martin in Duvernay, learned the trade. There is much to learn about running a successful bakery; secret recipes for artisanal bread and pizza, delectable desserts and the recipe of how to build an excellent rapport with clients. Joey Sr.’s son, Joey Jr., 29 years old, now owns and operates Pâtisserie St-Martin at Marché Jean-Talon, as he learned the trade from his dad. 

Although Joey Sr. is the owner of Pâtisserie St-Martin, he is often in the background baking and creating, while sister Maria Musumeci “runs the show” in the store front and handles incoming requests for wedding cakes, banquets and donations. Both Joey and Maria were taught at a young age by parents Antonio and Caterina to be kind and generous.

Kind and generous they are…to a fault.  In fact, they are so generous that it can be difficult for Maria to remember all the names of the various church groups, senior residences, women’s shelters and community and youth organizations they assist with food donations.  

Maria, or “Mary” as she is known to many, says they donated at least 50 box lunches to army volunteers who helped seniors at Val des Arbres Senior Residence at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bakery also donated pizzas and cannoli to help raise funds for young teens at the Centre de Jeunesse de Laval.  They also donated pizzas, cakes and bread to Les Centres Bonséjour, a rehabilitation center for individuals with drug and alcohol problems.

Pâtisserie St-Martin is renowned for assisting with food donations and fundraisers for many women’s shelters such as Maison de Lina, Maison Le Prélude, Ariane and Maison l’Esther.  Maria has organized her “Freedom Walk” each September for the past five years, which raised $74,000 to help troubled women and their children. Maria and Joey also offered Christmas log cakes, delicious pastries and homemade pizza whenever requests came in from women’s shelters.

The Laval Police organize a Special Olympics event called Parcours des Héros each year. The bakery provides volunteers and participants with pizza and cannoli.  Their cannoli are said to be the best in town! 

At Christmas time, Maria is contacted by many individuals to help needy families. She partnered with other companies who provided fresh vegetables and fruit, while she completed the boxes by including savory and sweet goodies.

Maria recalls a young, single mother of two stricken with cancer who requested help at Christmas. Of course, Maria complied by offering food, cookies and cakes for the family. Another homeless gentleman in his early 40’s with mental health issues visits the Laval bakery and often enjoys a free lunch special during the week. There are also the young autistic boys who help Joey Sr. to bake cookies and make boxes. These boys complete an internship at the bakery for a period of six months to one year. They are offered free lunch each day during their stage.  The list is goes on…

This year Pâtisserie St-Martin in Duvernay will celebrate its 33rd anniversary as they opened their doors in 1988. It would seem the family tradition will continue as Joey Jr’s son, who is also named Joey (affectionately called Baby JJ), is now two years old.

Maria and the Joeys have been making their community a better place to live and are always there to support the community.