‘I think we’ll be OK’

When Connie Ropp learned she could go inside her Sweet Blessings bakery and bistro during hours that crews aren’t demolishing the neighboring former Elder-Beerman building, she asked one question: Could she bake?

The answer was: There’s no reason why not.

“That’s a game-changer,” she said. “You just made me a very happy woman.”

Sweet Blessings closed its location at 625 E. Main St. to customers after Nov. 27, because it can’t be occupied when O’Rourke Wrecking Company crews come near the building that’s wedged between the Elder-Beerman and Phillips Drugs. There’s only a 4-inch gap between Sweet Blessings’ western wall and the east wall of Elder-Beerman.

The Main Street Resource Center at 814 E. Main St. is offering Ropp its lobby area and kitchenette to serve customers during December. There won’t be as much display space for baked goods and the bistro menu will be limited, but Ropp will be able to take orders and function during demolition.

“Totally shutting down was not going to be an option,” Ropp said. “A mom-and-pop, they’ve got to keep the income rolling.”

Ropp using the First Bank Kuhlman Center kitchen at the Wayne County Fairgrounds had been discussed, but the ability to continue baking in her own kitchen is “much easier,” she said. Ropp will continue using her ovens, her giant bread slicer and her mixing bowls. Products will be transported two blocks to the Innovation Center.

As Ropp spoke last week inside her business, a crew ripped apart the southwest corner of the Elder-Beerman building. There was no indication — noise, dust, vibrations — that demolition was occurring at the time. Ropp said it hasn’t been a problem, so far, after she reached a compromise with O’Rourke.

Demolition was delayed a month because a losing bidder appealed. That pushed demolition, which was originally scheduled to end by Nov. 15, into the Thanksgiving holiday window, the busiest time for Sweet Blessings.

“They were easy to compromise with when they understood that,” Ropp said. “I said, ‘You give me my Thanksgiving, and I’ll give you Christmas.’”

Thus, the itinerant December.

“I think it’ll be a little bit of an impact, because people finding you and getting used to it,” Ropp said. “I think we’ll be OK. We have some really good, loyal customers.”

She also remains optimistic about the construction period as 150 apartments are built in place of the former department store. Other East Main businesses have endured construction of The Loop and new-look roadway, and now, Ropp said, it’s her turn. She’s willing to deal with the short-term difficulty, because the long term promises occupied apartments immediately next door.

“I’ve seen other cities that have done this and it’s been successful and it has revitalized,” Ropp said. “I’m very positive. I’m all for it.

“I think it will help us. I think it will help everybody.”

Ropp opened Sweet Blessings during the pandemic, realizing her childhood dream of owning a bakery. The concept was a bakery with occasional food offerings; however, Sweet Blessings now seats 20 at five tables, features a full bistro menu and sells as much food as baked goods. Catering, too, has become successful.

“It definitely has evolved, and the customers have helped evolve it,” Ropp said.