Local bakery manages to stays open despite pandemic
The storefront of Hannah’s Homemade Heavens is decorated for Valentines on a chilly day in Stillwater. The bakery shares a corner with Jim’s Barber Shop and Meister’s.
March 24, 2021
Hannah’s Homemade Heavens, located near the corner of Churchill and Fourth St S., has continued to please customers with delicious baked goods amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owner Hannah Fazendin opened the bakery at age 19 in October 2015. Hannah’s Homemade Heavens was open five days a week, and served decadent cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts and almost any baked good one could think of. However, when 2020 rolled around the bakery was affected by the lockdowns and rising covid cases, it even had to close at one point.
“In the beginning we thought it was just going to pass and we had hope that we could stay open. Eventually the cases just kept climbing and we closed for a couple months to regroup and encourage everyone to stay home and stay safe,” Fazendin said.
Currently, the bakery is open Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. -2 p.m., which was a huge change from the bakery’s pre-pandemic hours. Another big change was the storefront; customers used to be able to walk into the store and gaze at all the goodies in the display case. Now, there is a walk up window countertop to keep everyone safe.
“The biggest challenge has been to ensure that everything stays clean and sanitized between customers. It used to take a little reminding, but now it has become almost second nature to wear masks, wash hands, and wipe down countertops after every customer,” Fazendin said.
Customers have been very supportive of Hannah’s Homemade Heavens, despite the changes. Frequent visitor of the bakery Kari Phillips and her family love to get treats at the bakery, especially on the weekend.
“I like that I can take my kids there and order through the window. It’s an easy, safe, outdoor option! They also have the best and freshest donuts!” Phillips said.
In the future, Hannah hopes that she will be able to allow customers inside again. However, they will only fully open back up if it is safe. Until then, customers will continue to enjoy the fresh baked goods from outside the storefront.
