A unique, nonprofit bakery is coming to this southwestern Illinois community
A new community kitchen is set to open March 1, and the baked goods won’t be the only sweet thing about it.
Edwardsville Neighbors, a nonprofit organization founded by Chad and Kathie Opel, will open a “first-of-its-kind bakery and community kitchen,” according to a Feb. 23 press release.
Neighbors Bakeshop will bring the community “locally-sourced and created confections and goods,” according to to the new venture’s Facebook page.
“We searched diligently to provide quality-sourced baked goods and favorites from local bakeries, vendor partners like Goshen Coffee, and bakery wholesalers,” Edwardsville Neighbors Board Member and committee leader Aleah Likas stated in the release.
“The part that excites us most is the local artisan bakers who will come to bake in our own kitchen, allowing us to feature monthly and weekly specialty items.”
Some of the goodies on offer (as evidenced by some mouth-watering photos on the Facebook page) include a variety of donuts, muffins, cookies and beautiful custom-order cakes.
Branded merch includes travel tumblers, totes and T-shirts. (How’s that for alliteration?)
Even sweeter than the available tasty treats is that the proceeds will “benefit District 7 residents through a variety of community outreach efforts and impact projects,” stated the release.
“As a nonprofit organization, we are always looking at new, sustainable ways to raise funds and ensure we can accomplish our mission of helping families in this community,” President and Co-Founder Kathie Opel stated in the release.
“The Neighbors Bakeshop seemed like the perfect way to do that while also providing the community with a unique new service. This project would not have been possible without the generous gifts of all of our donors who supported our capital campaign and especially Michael and Kristie Bailey of Fireside Financial, owners of Whispering Heights.”
In addition to the food, the swag and the community support, the kitchen will be available for party rentals, cooking demonstrations and for use as a co-op kitchen.
Edwardsville Neighbors is a 501c(3) and has been around since 2010. Along with the Opels, the organization is operated by a 12-person volunteer board.
For more info about the organization, visit edwardsvilleneighbors.org.
Neighbors Bakeshop will be located at 1010 Enclave, Suite B in Edwardsville.
According to Aleah Likas, an Edwardsville Neighbors board member and Bakeshop committee member, the bakery’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday-Friday, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. They are closed on Mondays.
I also learned that the bakery’s phone number, 618-307-9800, will be active as of March 1.
Learn more about Neighbors Bakeshop by emailing neighborsbakeshop@gmail.com, visiting neighborsbakeshop.org or finding them on Facebook.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
