How Sweet It Is Cakes, a bakery in downtown Duluth, had outgrown its space three years ago. Owner Eileen Brown was delighted to make a deal to move to a new location, where she agreed with the landlord to pay for part of a new kitchen.
Then her cake business, with its artistic confections in the shape of birch logs, buildings or anything else a customer could imagine, went a little sour.
The kitchen cost more than she had anticipated, business slowed and a family member faced some serious health problems. The stress took a toll on Brown's health, too, giving her complications from high blood pressure.
At the end of October, she decided to call it quits. Rather than file for bankruptcy, Brown said, she decided to close up shop, make good on cakes ordered for delivery over the next several days, then refund any orders after that. She tried to help her staff of 26 — a group she considers family — find other work.
"We wanted to fulfill all our obligations," Brown said. "We closed the doors and gave a bunch of stuff away to food shelves."
Shutting down felt like a death, she said. The bakery was part of her daily life for 22 years, nearly 11 of them in Duluth. Customers mourned its loss, too. People stopped by to wish Brown well in the bakery's last days.
"We knew that we loved the community," she said. "We didn't realize how much the community loved us."
Then, she received a very sweet offer.
A man who had once worked as her operations manager and now works for the Duluth Grill contacted her and asked her to consider an alternative: Would Brown consider bringing her skills there?
The Duluth Grill had become a revered local restaurant and catering business that prides itself on using fresh, local and organic ingredients. Owners Tom and Jaima Hanson are always looking to try their hands at various aspects of the industry, Tom said. They got to know Brown's work when they would cater an event and find her cakes there.
"The cakes are something you would find in a big-city environment," Tom Hanson said.
Hanson and Brown met and soon decided to work together.
"It was really about keeping an institution here in Duluth," Hanson said. "To have that as part of our portfolio was just a desire."
Now it's How Sweet It Is Cakes At the Duluth Grill, and Brown is again taking cake orders. She's also working on a full list of sweets to be sold on the Grill's menu and for takeout from the front counter, including macarons, éclairs, cupcakes and other decadent treats.
Hanson, who has been in the industry for 39 years, said he's always kind of taken an underdog attitude.
While he doesn't expect skyrocketing revenue off adding the cakes and sweets to his business, "we feel that it's something that's going to be a big asset," he said.
As for Brown, her stress level is down and her family member's health problems have been resolved. She is still paying off nearly $250,000 in loans and debts, she said, but she's happy to be working again. Thanksgiving brought reason to be extra grateful this year.
"It's an amazing holiday," Brown said. "I'm very thankful for the opportunity."
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