An Albany bakery is celebrating its 10th anniversary in a new location in Slingerlands.
More than 100 attended the grand opening Thursday afternoon at Bake For You, which sits along New Scotland Road in a new apartment building.
Founder and co-owner Linda Kindlon says the bakery is a recipient of a microenterprise grant program. "We got a loan and then we got a $35,000 grant through the Town of Bethlehem. And they were instrumental and very very helpful for us to get this space."
Co-owner Justin Oscar Cary: "We decided to expand, an opportunity presented itself, and a lot of it was driven by Bethlehem's cooperation and Windsor Properties. The cost involved, the amount of work involved in something like this it's thousands of hours and it was over a year in the making."
Bake For You originally opened its bakery and cafe in 2013 on Delaware Avenue. "We were at 540 Delaware Ave for six years, and then prior to that we were in a church basement on State Street. That's where we started."
Bake For You’s new location sports an open, flowing space with indoor and outdoor seating. Kindlon says that idea came from the landlord, the Windsor Company.
Bethlehem Town Supervisor David VanLuven said Bake For You is already a good neighbor. "Last week as you know, we had a terrible fire just around the corner in North Bethlehem. What you probably don't know is that the force of opening up all those hydrants at once blew open a 7 foot crack in the water main here on New Scotland Road. And as a result we had to, while fixing it, we had to close down water all the way down this street, which meant that Bake For You wasn't able to be open. Linda and Justin's response was to take cookies up to the emergency responders."
Just three weeks in the new location, Kindlon says the community has been very supportive. She calls the customer flow "amazing." Cary says there's always room for one more... "We're known for our scones and cookies first and foremost. We've expanded in the breakfast sandwiches, you know, bacon egg and cheese, sausage egg and cheese, which has been huge, it's a huge hit. It's just real simple fresh food, made to order. We're closed on Mondays. Open Tuesday through Friday from 7 to 6. Open Saturday and Sunday 8 to 4."
The café seats 40 inside, with additional seating on the patio. VanLuven says the business is one step in furthering the vision of the so-called hamlet area along New Scotland Road.
