Baker & Rose relocating to old Dainty Maid building
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—After a year of brewing coffee and whipping up brunch inside of the Emporium building, Baker & Rose is relocating to the old Dainty Maid building in downtown South Bend.
Co-owner Kevin Lawler made the announcement on Wednesday, marking nearly a year since the small café began serving coffee, breakfast and lunch out of a 100 square foot kitchen on S. Niles Ave.
Lawler and his sister, Colleen, who also co-owns the restaurant, always knew that the Emporium space would be temporary.
“I’m excited about it, it’s really exciting to be a part of downtown South Bend and its growth, to be a part of an older building that is sort of coming back into use after being closed for the last few years,” Lawler said.
Lawler started planning the move at the end of last year after spending 2018 introducing the restaurant to the South Bend community and refining the menu.
“It’s a building that people really know in this town. It’s a famous spot and we feel a lot of responsibility to go in there and do something really good in there and make sure it remains a part of downtown South Bend,” Lawler said.
More space is just the beginning of the upsides to the move for Lawler. The move will allow Baker & Rose to hire more staff, add menu items and expand their catering offerings.
“In the past, we’ve had to turn down groups of like, 75 people, because it was too big. Now, we’ll be able to take in the business,” Lawler said.
While the menu is still under construction along with the new space, Lawler hinted at the idea of adding bacon to the list.
“We haven’t been able to have a fryer because of space but now with the new one, we could,” Lawler said.
The current Baker & Rose location is now closed but Lawler says to watch out for pop-up events throughout the summer ahead of the move, which will be announced on their social media accounts.
The announcement comes in the middle of the U.S. Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week, which runs from May 5-11.