East Durham Bake Shop makes it easy for customers to pay kindness forward
A new business thrives in a part of east Durham where business hasn't thrived for years.
Driving on Driver Street in Durham, you will pass businesses like a funeral home as well as several boarded up or gutted homes. As you near the intersection of Angier Avenue, you will notice a newly renovated building painted in white. It's the East Durham Bake Shop, and it's often filled with regular customers.
The reason for the shop's success is easy to see and to smell. An active staff can be easily seen rolling out pastry dough and removing freshly baked good from the oven.
After years of working in a New York bakery, Ali Rudel and her family moved down to Durham. It's where she began selling pies out of her home. Then, with the help of crowd-funding through Kickstarter, Rudel finally opened her dream shop.
She said she carefully designed the business to create a mood.
"I think for us, it was about creating a very intentional space — a space where people felt welcome, a space where people who get together and relax," Rudel said.
It's not unusual to see customers like Kate Van Dis sit down with a hot coffee and a fresh pastry.
"The pastries are amazing," Van Dis said. "It's really homey and cozy. I like to bring my kids here. There's, like, a little book nook in the corner. "
Rudel said she intentionally avoided food processors. Everything is hand-made by scratch.
The "Just Because" cork board helped define the spirit of the shop.
"This idea came out of wanting to humanize people and like make connections with people," Rudel said.
Customers can pay for a particular treat like a hot latte or a crispy croissant and then write a note dedicating the item to a future visitor.
One note pinned to the cork board dedicates a "sweet treat for someone who is grieving the loss of a dear friend."
"Or it could be just something like, 'have a slice of pie,'" Rudel said.
Van Dis never thought she would claim one of the cards for herself.
"Except for one time when I forgot my wallet and I used, it was like, 'Coffee for a busy mom,'" she said.
Many cards may reveal a person reaching out to others with shared experience, Rudel said. One example reads, "To somebody battling cancer. Me too!"
Rudel says that she and her staff never ask questions in an attempt to make sure the visitor matches the card. She says that's not the intent.
"We point people to the board and say, if you haven't tried that, it's up on the board. Why don't you grab one?"
The intent is helping customers to connect with neighbors they have yet to meet.
"It's just a gesture of kindness that somebody wanted to pass along," Rudel said. "We're happy to be a vessel for that."
