A car crashed into Expresso Bakery, 100 4th St. in Elyria, in February and nearly destroyed one of the building’s walls.
Husband and wife team Keith and Laura Black, the bakery’s co-owners, said that they originally were unsure the bakery would be able to survive at all.
On Dec. 8, however, the community made sure to show that the local bakery had not been forgotten.
After nine months of repairs, the bakery reopened to perhaps its largest crowd of customers ever.
“Today, we opened at 5 a.m.,” Laura Black said. “By 4:15, people were starting to show up in the parking lot.
“By a quarter to five, there were no spots left for our employees even to park. There’s been a continuous line.”
Originally slated for four to six months of repairs, Black said the first month and half was the hardest.
“The first 45 days were really stressful, because we were working with our insurance company,” Black said. “We got all that straightened out with insurance, and after that, it was good.
“It was just really waiting on the contractors to finish things up.”
Anxious to get back to baking, she and her husband were cautiously optimistic that the wait would be worth it.
“We posted on Facebook, and Facebook just went absolutely crazy,” Black said. “I know there was a couple news articles on TV.
“We’ve heard a lot of positive things; people (have been) congratulating us on coming back.”
Black said that as soon as the word got out, Elyrians jumped at the chance to get their hands on Expresso Bakery donuts again.
The shop has become a Elyria community linchpin since it opened in 2019, she said.
The bakery’s entire day’s worth of donuts was sold out before 9 a.m.
“I was a little nervous, feeling a little sick to my stomach, thinking how busy it was going to be,” Black said. “It was even busier than we thought.”
Perhaps the most reassuring part of the grand reopening was not the sheer number of customers, Black said, but seeing the everyday regulars again.
“We have customers that come in here every day,” she said. “We have a lot of repeat customers.
“Everyone is always posting on Facebook (about) how great our donuts are. The regulars showed back up today on our opening day, that was really nice.”
The couple thanked the community for being so supportive throughout the nine-month process, and for showing up in droves for the grand reopening.
With the bakery’s traditional busiest day of the week coming up Saturday, business should be booming throughout the weekend, Black said.
“We really appreciate it,” she said. “We’re glad our customers came back.
“We wondered if we would lose anybody (because) they hadn’t seen us so long. We’re hoping the word gets out to everyone, so they know we’re back open and stop back in and see us.”
