A sign on the window at Great Harvest Bread (5408 Sand Point Way at Sand Point Village), owned by Jay and Stacey Powers, says that the store will be closing tomorrow, "for good, ever, the end" the sign says.
We learned that the bakery's lease was up and that the landlord wasn't willing to negotiate, but rather raised the rent. Combined with that and not enough people were coming in, thus sales consistently declining, the bakery is not able to stay in business.
They also are closing their other Great Harvest Bread location in Puyallup that they own under "Freedom Franchise," in which franchise owners are given recipes and processes by corporate Great Harvest Bread. The Powers have owned the bakery for 6 years and before that time it was owned by a Laurelhurst family.
The owners told us they were given little notice and wished they could have stayed open at least a little bit longer. They said they will miss the community and think it is unfortunate that yet another neighborhood business is forced to close.
The owners graciously invited Kindergarten classes the last few years to tour their bakery and taste some treats. And many children frequented the bakery for an after school snack, and others enjoyed the delicious unique bread varieties and baked items.
A neighbor told us that Windermere, who owns the property, under an investment subsidiary, is looking into replacing Great Harvest with another bakery.
3 comments:
The community needs a good bakery/deli and I'm certain it could thrive with proper management, polite service, and a variety of products.
Sad to see the Great Harvest name disappear from our community.
This is SO sad. We went every week. Loved the owners, and loved the bread, and loved the bakery. Such a sad thing. Could we convince everyone to work it out?
What a bummer! We were gone all of July, only to come back and find it gone. Loved the owners, loved the bakery, and loved the bread! Is there any way to convince everyone to come back to the table and work it out? Man. What a bummer.
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