EASTLAKE, Ohio — On Vine Street in Eastlake, the smell fresh cinnamon rolls, cookies and cupcakes seep from the doors of a new neighborhood bakery.
The doors to I Love You To The Moon and Back Bakery first opened in November after owner Rachel Wiley got overwhelmed with home orders for baked treats.
“During the pandemic, it actually got too much to the point where I had too much business and I didn't have enough space and I'm just like, OK, time to open a place," she said.
The 26-year-old is the sole baker working long hours to make sure each item is fresh. She said some days she’s shocked by the support she’s received from the community.
“It's been crazy busy, like, the city is amazing," Wiley said. “It feels amazing, honestly, to have what I have not a lot of people can say that right now.”
Though the bakery is having major success now, Wiley said the road to get here had some rough spots along the way. She said several banks denied her business loan request.
“They said, 'Oh, you're self-employed. It's a pandemic. We don't trust that you'll actually make money.'”
But, just like the love she pours into her baked goods, her family — grandpa specifically — stepped up and offered to help get the business off the ground.
"The second I brought it up, he's like, 'OK, how much do you need?'”
Wiley said she can’t wait for the pandemic to end because she has big plans for her new business.
“I want to do trivia nights and a little music and stuff because there's a lot of space in here," she said looking around the free space in her bakery.
This was her message to those who’ve kept her going strong these last couple of months: "It’s crazy, so just thank you for getting me to where I am and everything.”
For more information and hours for I Love You To The Moon and Back Bakery, click here.
