EDGEWATER — Baker & Nosh owners announced on social media Tuesday that financial problems were a main reason why the bakery's planned expansion into new Edgewater and Uptown storefronts is more than a year overdue.
Via an update on the bakery's Facebook page, owners Bill Millholland and Terry Groff said that after closing up shop at the original 1303 W. Wilson Ave. location in March, the pair learned financing for new bakeries at 4600 N. Magnolia Ave. and 5600 N. Ridge Ave. had "fallen through".
In the time since, the bakery said it had been "tirelessly seeking alternative sources" to fund the stores, but had so far "come up empty-handed," leaving them unsure "if we will be able to reopen and in what capacity."
"While we are still working to make this happen, we have also exhausted most avenues that we know of for funding," the bakery wrote. "That being said, at some point, as business owners, we have to decide when it is time to pull the plug. Unfortunately, that time is coming up very quickly."
The bakery thanked community members for their support and encouragement and promised to keep the public updated on developments.
The embattled bakery has experienced other problems since abruptly closing at the end of March.
At its Ridge Avenue location in Edgewater, posters plastered along the storefront's floor-to-ceiling windows still claim that Baker & Nosh is opening — in spring 2016.
Meanwhile, the bakery's planned new site in Uptown received a stop work order from the city for performing work at the space without permits.
According to the March 11 city order, the bakery was cited for having "performed or allowed work to be performed without submitting plans prepared, signed and sealed by a licensed architect or registered structural engineer for approval, and without obtaining a permit to perform the work."
The shop was told to stop all work until it had the proper permitting to do so.
On the day the bakery closed its original location, owners posted a message on Facebook telling customers the closing of the Wilson shop and opening of the two others "didn't exactly coincide," leading to an "unavoidable and frustrating delay."
"Regretfully our closing announcement is without warning to you all," the bakery wrote. "We literally tried up to the last minute to figure out a way to stay put a bit longer, but it's time to let the new tenant take over and turn our space into something wonderful."
However, by the time Baker & Nosh authored the post, bakery owners knew they were in trouble with the city for doing construction work without permission at the Magnolia Avenue store.
A phone number listed on the city's construction permit at 5600 N. Ridge Ave. for Baker & Nosh owner Bill Millholland has been disconnected. Co-owner Terry Groff could not be reached Tuesday, and a public relations firm representing the bakery did not provide comment.
