It is with sorrow and bittersweet memories that I tell you I am not going to reopen the bakery. I know. I know. Trust me, I did not make the decision lightly.  I have made many friends over the years and celebrated thousands of milestones with you. But the Universe is bold and spoke loudly in this crazy upside-down year of 2020.  I was holding on by a thread during COVID, but Derecho did me in. August 10, 2020, was my birthday and I promise you I did not ask for that historic storm. After experiencing massive damage to the front area of my shop I had some hard questions to answer. Do I have the resolve, time, passion, and finances to continue? Some yes, more no. It is time for me to retire, on what is the 19th birthday of Jules Bakery.

I had passion when I opened just weeks after 9/11. I made it through the floods of 2008, and the financial bubbles of 2012 AND 2016. I even made it through a rough year of cancer in 2015!  Come 2020 and COVID? My team and I stepped up and said, “We’ve got this!” Then, on August 10, 2020, a disaster tore through this community like none other in history. Many of you struggled and are still struggling like I am to put things back in order. It is the single hardest thing I have experienced in life because everything seems to be beyond my control. I can’t “just make it happen.”

What I hold on to is not the demise of Jules Bakery, but the lasting memories I will always have of you sharing your milestones and celebrations with me. This has been the best 19 years that anyone could ask for. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Thank you to all the Bakery Babes who have blessed my life and helped create a wonderful baking business.  You know who you are.

What now? First, I am headed to Mexico where a beach has been sanitized in my name. I can just as easily isolate in the warm sea air as I can on that snow mound out front. When I get back, I will get my vaccine, and get myself emotionally ready for the next chapter. That includes volunteering with SCORE and helping entrepreneurs develop new business. I want to volunteer with Mercy’s cancer center. And then, I will begin researching the feasibility of running for public office. Public service is something I have always wanted to do because I want to be part of the solution in my community!

So long and farewell. I expect to exit faster than Donald Trump to be sure! The Universe spoke and I listened. Bye all. And thank you again for 19 wonderful years.

Who had inland hurricane with 140 mph winds for 2020?

Closed!

Ok 2020, you win. I am no longer going to try to outthink you or predict with any certainty what you might bring.

Those winds blew devastation into every corner of our community. No one was left unaffected. Including my little bakery. Heartbreaking. Gut wrenching. Nerve racking. All the adjectives I can write do not change the fact that I am closed until further notice.

We sustained physical damage which has taken far too long given supplies, equipment, and labor resources are stretched to the brink. We lost equipment that is necessary to bake. I cannot say for sure when I will be back in the bakery kitchen. Until then, please keep yourselves safe. Remember that COVID-19 is still very much a threat. Remember me for all the times I helped you serve dessert first!