WAUWATOSA — Whether you're in search of some fresh sourdough bread, croissant, or a slice of pizza for lunch, head on down to Rocket Baby Bakery on North Avenue in Wauwatosa.
"I think it's one of those things where we were in the right place at the right time with the right product," said Geoffrey Trenholme, co-owner of Rocket Baby Bakery.
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Opening in 2012, Rocket Baby Bakery meets Tosa's baked good needs. However, that almost changed when COVID-19 hit the states.
"The president announced a national emergency. We met on Monday for what was going to be a brief talk on top of our meeting and it turned into a meeting where we decided to close down," said Geoff.
Just a few days later, the entire state of Wisconsin closed.
Despite being considered an essential business, owners like Geoff chose not to reopen until they had everything figured out.
"We felt that we had to come back and do it right. We switched to online ordering. We revamped our schedule. We figured out how to give our employees spacing and time to ensure the safety of our staff and our customers," said Geoff.
Back with a limited menu, Rocket Baby Bakery still does not allow customers inside the cafe. Instead, they are encouraging customers to take advantage of the patio area next door.
"The city saw this as a neighborhood center and that's exactly what it has become," said Geoff.
Thankful for the community's support, Rocket Baby Bakery is moving toward expanding options.
"It's been really wonderful because we had to open in a very constrained manner with a limited number of goods. Because of our restraints with online ordering, we had to put things in boxes, which is not what I want. I want to be able to sell individual goods," says Geoff. "Yet the community responded with a lot of support. We were selling out regularly. I'm really happy to be able to say now we can offer people walk-up. You can walk-up and get individual items and coffee and sandwiches. It just feels good to be doing the best we can, and we are slowly just trying to rebuild to reach the needs of our customers."