Sweet Tides reopening delayed while waiting for state permit

Like waiting for yeast to rise, customers of Sweet Tides Bakery will have to wait a little longer for the business to reopen.

The bakery had planned to open this Wednesday, however a permitting backlog at the state's food safety and sanitation office has delayed the reopening by a week or possibly more.

It's proving to be a blessing and a curse, said owner Shawna Buness. The delay has given Buness and her husband Jordan more time to finish the cabinetry and décor, but it's hard to run a business without customers.

Sweet Tides closed on March 9 to expand into the storefront at 310 Front St. The plan is to transition from just a bakery to a bakery and coffee shop with seating for about 25 patrons.

In anticipation of the expansion, the front of the building, which used to house Twisted Root, a health food store, was remodeled with new siding and an awning. A new entrance was added that opens directly into Sweet Tides, as the other street-facing door leads to an upstairs apartment and had allowed access to the previous business.

"The folks that live upstairs had tourists walk all the way up the stairs into their apartment looking for Twisted Root on more than one occasion," Buness said. "We really needed to give them their own personal entrance to help deter that from happening again."

The inside has fresh paint and new countertops, and the cedar countertop that was used in the bakery now runs along the front window with seating for about five or six so that people can sit, enjoy coffee and a pastry and "watch Front Street roll by," Buness said. There will be a couch, some other chairs and a few tables.

Outside, the window in the door will display a new logo designed by Grace Wintermyer and applied by her mom, who also designed the original logo. Lettering along the base of the windows will announce the shop's offerings.

The decorations will follow the nautical theme of the name but not too extreme, she said. Photos from local photographers depicting various seafaring images will adorn the walls along with glass floats, wooden pulleys and an old tugboat steering wheel Jordan recovered while diving to a scuttled vessel years ago.

"It's definitely a vintage steering wheel," Jordan said, recalling the dive in which he retrieved it. "One of the handles is broke off and two had clearly been replaced."

Buness is also appreciative of the work her husband has done, as he has been working until 10 or 11 p.m. the past five weeks to prepare for the opening. "And he does it with little to no complaint. He's the best."

A new Simonelli espresso machine, which Jake Harris of the Stikine Inn helped them select, is also ready to prepare specialty coffee drinks. For now, Buness said they will only be serving beverages and baked goods. Breakfast items will return as summer approaches and demand increases.

The permit delay has also allowed her to get new staff hired and ready to work, with one person coming on to work as a barista and counter help, and Brittani Robbins will take on multiple positions as office administration, bookkeeping, kitchen and counter help. Devyn Johnson, originally part of the Sweet Tides partnership, has moved on to a job with the borough parks and recreation department.

Still, the reopening delay has been frustrating, but Buness is determined to make it work.

"When we first opened up" in the original location in the back of the building, the state food safety and sanitation office "told us 30 days" for a permit, "and not even four days later the permit was in our inbox," she said. "I'm just hoping she (state permitting official) is being extra conservative with her estimation, but worst-case scenario we'll open in the back again if it's going to be 30 to 60 days. I'd prefer not to do it that way."

It's been a lot of work to get things right and Buness is ready to greet customers again.

"We're ready to get back at it, that's for sure," she said.