A bakery has been on the corner of 700 Troy Street for 125 years. In 1969 Bill Evans bought the business and ran Evans Bakery with his family for about 35 years before he sold it in 2004. That new owner operated it for about 7 years, but eventually closed it. Evans, who still owned the building, found a new owner for the business, his daughter Jennifer.
Jennifer has never envisioned herself running the bakery. She’d gotten an engineering degree and had been working in that field for about 15 years in Michigan. But she was looking for a change, and her partner Matt Tepper, who was a city manager in the Detroit area, also felt the need for a change. So they both moved to Dayton and on Dec 17th of 2012 they reopened Evans Bakery. Jennifer felt inspired to restore the bakery and bring vibrancy to the neighborhood she’d grown up in.
And for ten years, six days a week she worked 16 hours days baking. She says making their biggest seller, their donuts takes up half of that time. Jennifer shared that though an introvert, she has loved getting to know her neighbors and regulars through the bakery. She told us about one of her regulars, who became a friend, “Toshio who commissioned this amazing rendering of our beloved bakery. The very talented Loretta Puncer Art captured every last detail to perfection. Now while you’re admiring our showcase of donuts, pastries and baked goods you can also admire fine art.”
Artist Loretta Puncer, Jennifer Evans, Toshio and Matt Tepper
Jennifer says, “it’s been a wonderful 10 years and it’s hard to articulate exactly why, but this is hard work, my body is starting to break down and I want more time for other things, but the bakery consumes my life.”
One of the things she’s looking forward to is the freedom to travel up to Michigan to visit her daughter and grandkids. You can hear the joy in her voice when she shared how thrilling it was be there over Thanksgiving, when her 2nd grandchild came home from the hospital.
So on Thursday, December 17th, exactly 10 years from the day she started as the bakery owner, when she locks the doors at their 3pm closing time, it will be for the last time. Though she does say they will fulfill holiday orders of pies, breads, and cookies placed by Dec 17th for pick up through Dec 24th, but no more donuts.
Puncer’s painting of the bakery.
And while she says she looks forward to never baking another thing, she’s happy to entertain offers from others that may want to lease or buy the bakery and or the building. She’s also quick to point out she’s not leaving the neighborhood. She lives above the bakery currently and has several rental properties in the neighborhood.
