A bakery in downtown Old Town closed Tuesday, just two months after it opened.
Yahweh Cafe and Bakery, which offered organic baked goods in a religious-themed space, is closing because it couldn’t cover the overhead costs, one of the owners, Kristine L’Heureux, said.
Yahweh opened in September and is the second cafe to close in Old Town this year. It joins a list of restaurant closures that have swept across eastern Maine this fall, though it is the first to say a lack of customers forced it to close.
Fewer customers have come to the cafe since a “great turnout” on opening day, L’Heureux said. The lack of foot traffic in Old Town brought in less than $200 in sales on some days.
“There’s not enough customer base here to even remotely cover all my bills,” L’Heureux said.
Customers are seeking quick meals instead of sitting down at local businesses, L’Heureux said.
The cafe opened on Sept. 13 and offered baked goods ranging from loaves of bread to whoopie pies, along with tea and coffee. The owners, Kristine and Jason L’Heureux, opened it because they saw a lack of coffee and baked good options in Old Town and wanted to fill it.
The owners spent $30,000 to $40,000 on remodeling the building and buying equipment before opening, L’Heureux said.
The inside of the cafe was remodeled for months before opening to reflect the couple’s religious beliefs. Decorations included references to specific Bible verses with fish nets, lanterns and vines. The cafe also provided free Bibles to customers.
The electric and gas bills since opening have been more than L’Heureux can afford, despite the building owner not charging the business rent, she said.
“I’m not some Joe Shmoe off the street with millions of dollars in my back pocket. I’m a small-town business owner who has a family to support, a mortgage to pay and kids to feed,” L’Heureux said.
The bills have pushed L’Heureux into “major debt” because of the lack of income, she said. She hasn’t been able to pay herself for the long days she’s spent baking while holding another job, leaving her burnt out from baking.
The city could have helped her business more, she said.
City councilors said they would visit the bakery when they approved the business license, but L’Heureux said she didn’t see any of them in the cafe. The city tried to help customers coming in by giving the business tickets to a University of Maine football game to give to customers, but that didn’t bring in more people, she said.
“[Old Town] could have done a heck of a lot more. They say, oh, small business this, small business that. I’m like, show me your support. Help the little guys out,” L’Heureux said.
The city was encouraging customers to come to the cafe by giving out the tickets, but low foot traffic isn’t something that could have been fixed quickly with more support, City Councilor Zachary Wyles said.
“I’m disappointed to see a small business leave the city after being here for such a short time, but I’m not certain what the city could’ve done to support a private business looking to stick around,” Wyles said.
The cafe’s equipment is being sold to a business opening in Enfield. L’Heureux didn’t say which business it was, but said they are buying the majority of their kitchen equipment.
L’Heureux is taking a break from baking before offering her bread and whoopie pies at craft fairs in the future. She will also continue to offer free cakes for foster children, something she agreed to when she opened the bakery.
Opening the cafe was L’Heureux’s dream. She’s upset about closing the bakery, but said she has had supporters even after announcing the closure.
“People told me, ‘Don’t look at it as a failure. Look at it as you tried. At least you tried to, most people wouldn’t even try,’” L’Heureux said.
