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Knot Just Another Baking Co.
It’s all location, location, location
August 22, 2006
Mike Williams and Heidi Stonebraker moved to South Bend
from West Seattle in July 2004 in hopes of slowing down
and being closer to family and friends. Finding a way to
make a living was the only challenge.
Two years later, the couple have their hands full and are
rolling in dough—literally. They own and operate Knot
Just Another Baking Co., specializing in soft pretzels,
breads and sweet treats.
Heidi serves as secretary for the South Bend Revitalization
Team and both Heidi and Mike see great potential for growth
in South Bend.
The company opened in the back of Café Omni in December
2004 on a shoestring budget and a hunch that the South Bend-Raymond
area was ready for fine bread.
“Kay Nix, who owned the Omni at that point, heard
we were looking for space for a bakery and pointed out that
the Omni building had been home to a bakery for dozens of
years in the past,” Mike said. “The rear area
of the building was just what we needed to get the wholesale
end of the business going, so with a lot of help from Kay
and from Ron Reed, we managed to get rolling.”
The couple are careful to give plenty of credit to Nix.
“She took a chance on us, gave us a break on rent
and provided plenty of moral support,” Mike said.
“The truth is, we couldn’t have made it this
far without her.”
While the pair are up to their elbows in bread dough, the
other kind of dough has been a bigger struggle. The Omni
location was fine for launching the bakery, but retail customers
on the whole had difficulty finding it. The wholesale side
of the business was slower to start than planned and the
retail side showed far more potential.
“We needed a bigger space for customers and more visibility
to make it,” Heidi said. “It was a problem finding
a space that offered all of that and affordability.”
The solution to the problem was the former Boondocks Seafood
Outlet and Espresso. The Gray family offered the building
for rent in May 2006; the bakery relocated in June and business
dramatically picked up.
“Our regulars were happy to follow us, and they like
the new space,” Mike said. “But the biggest
increase has been from the constant stream of RVs, motorcycles,
cars and bicycles that roll through town on Highway 101.
We knew most of the tourists were passing us by, but we
had no idea just how much potential there was.”
The rapid increase put KJABCo on more sound footing financially
and offers plenty of potential for growth. The couple plan
to add deli sandwiches later in 2006.
“Sandwiches give us another outlet for our bread and
another draw for customers, both locals and tourists,”
Heidi said. “They’re telling us that’s
what they want. We hope the bakery menu and sandwiches can
help smooth out the slow months when the stream of tourists
slows to a trickle.”
The company employs two workers and was in the process of
hiring another in August.
Mike said: “Things are starting to come together.
We have a fantastic location, fantastic products and we’re
finding staff to make it all work. There’s plenty
of potential here, and we’re going to tap it.”
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