By Bob Seidenberg
Bringing a platter of the bakery’s fresh products to the meeting probably didn’t hurt the cause of a couple seeking assistance from the Economic Development Committee Wednesday to establish a bakery at 719 Main St.
Sara Rathbun, the co-owner of Button Bakery, brought the platter of scones and pretzels with her to the meeting at the Civic Center, where she was seeking tax assistance to help modernize the building that once housed Ten Thousand Villages to convert it into a bakery.
Committee members, some munching on the baked goods, voted unanimously to approve the recommendation of tax increment finance (TIF) funding not to exceed $95,600 to support upgrades to the building.
The issue will next go to the full City Council for review and possible approval.
Rathbun and husband Oran Rankin conducted an all-out search after deciding to reinvent the next phase of their careers, following the sale of their existing Village Baker business in Michigan to the bakery’s executive chef.
Their goal was to create “what we call Button Bakery,” employing between six and 10 full-time staff members and designed to be “cute as a button,” hence the name, explained Rathbun.
“The bakery would make sweet treats in the morning, pretzels and bread all day long, pizza in the evening,” she told the committee at the Wednesday meeting.
Main Street the target The couple’s search took them to Chicago and then north to Evanston, Rathbun said in both a 13-page detailed project narrative and a short presentation she gave to the committee.
“Main Street became a targeted area for the location of our bakery well over a year ago. We live in south Evanston and we appreciate the variety of small self-made businesses and the charming business community that they create,” she wrote in the project description.“Finding the right storefront, one that fits our business’s needs and complements the character of our business vision takes time. But the commercial space located at 719 Main truly caught our attention. We find the architectural charm and legacy character of the 719 and 717 structure (which the landlord has given first option on the space) very attractive. We love the idea of creating an historic looking bakery for our Evanston customers to enjoy.”There was a big challenge, though. The 1,500 square foot building at 719 and 717 Main, successfully occupied by Ten Thousand Villages for six years, had gone through rough times since then.“The pandemic unfortunately compromised the success of many commercial renters which in turn created financial struggles for property owners,” Rathbun wrote. “After assessing the total needs of installing our business at 719 Main, we discovered that our ideal project would be well over budget,” she said of the project, with a total cost of more than $530,000.The couple’s goal is to have “all equipment be electric and energy efficient with no combustion,” she told committee members, rather than the gas-fired ovens traditionally used in that type of bakery. For the equipment alone, the couple expects to spend about $208,000, she said.
‘New restaurant use with a unique niche’
Neal Reeves, an economic development specialist for the city, noted in a memo that the bakery is in need of financial assistance for fire suppression upgrades, updated utilities, renovations to the interior property and exterior facade improvements.
The payback to the city is “new restaurant use with a unique niche. The project also provides significant upgrades to modernize the property for retail/restaurant use,” he wrote.
Prior to City Council approval, staff will draft a program agreement with the owners, including requirements that the city’s grant, paid for with Chicago Main TIF district funds, will be used for TIF-eligible improvement expenses, Reeves noted. The city currently has five active TIF districts, which collect additional tax revenue to put toward infrastructure improvements and economic development for business areas and neighborhoods that have suffered from disinvestment.
Further, the bakery will pledge to make a good-faith effort to hire Evanston residents when jobs become available.
Sara Rathbun, the co-owner of Button Bakery. Under the agreed upon conditions, Button Bakery would have to pay back 50% of the TIF investment funds should it close and relocate to another community within five years of receiving the grant money.
Committee discussion was rather short — and sweet — with at least one person on the committee, Second Ward Council Member Krissie Harris, due to attend the Land Use Commission discussion on the city’s Envision Evanston plan that evening, which attracted an overflow crowd on the same floor.
‘I think this area needs bread’ Committee member Angela Pennisi, who lives near the site, praised the benefits of a community bakery.
“I like having a bakery in the neighborhood, I live around the corner, the scones [brought to the meeting] are delicious,” she said.
Pennisi said she sought information before the meeting about the number of bakeries now in the neighborhood.
“We have a coffee shop across the street [from Button Bakery’s proposed location], we have Lefty’s Righteous Bagels down on Chicago Avenue, we have Trattoria D.O.C. In the evenings.”
She said she wasn’t opposed to Button Bakery’s request. But as economic development proposals in general move forward, she said, committee members might want to think about the types of similar uses that collect in the city’s various business districts.
“I think this area needs bread,” said Rathbun, responding, noting that there’s a network of bakeries in regular communication.
“I wouldn’t want to be on Central [Street], where there are already three bakeries,” she said. “But I do think that our product is a little bit different.”
Other committee members gave the proposal their endorsement, including Council Member Jonathan Nieuwsma, in whose Fourth Ward the bakery would be located.
“Residents are very enthusiastic about the idea of a bakery,” he said.
Committee member Cheryl Judice, who also lives in the neighborhood, noted that Meier’s Bakery and other bakeries once operated in the area.
“So we have had a long history of bakeries on that block,” she said.
Judice and other committee members voted unanimously to move the issue to the full council for consideration.
