New bakery in the works for River Arts district
Sunflour is expected to open by early spring
A new bakery is coming to the River Arts district at the intersection of Avenue A and North Fifth Avenue. Sunny Shropshire Knauss is in the process of converting the building from its longtime role as a beauty salon, and hopes to be open sometime early this spring.
She plans to call her bakery Sunflour, and will specialize in breads and custom bakery goods like King cakes during the Mardi Gras season, gingerbread goodies and the like.
Knauss has been trying in recent weeks to trace the history of the building, which is owned by Rome businessman Thom Holt.
“The best I can tell it was built in 1920 and it was built to be a beauty shop,” Knauss said. The building was known as Lu Hannons at one time and Carriage House during another period of time.
“I love this part of town and am really excited to be on this side of the river because I think a lot of really good things are going to happen over here,” Knauss said. “North Fifth has not gotten the attention that it is due.”
She said the building is small enough to be able to offer quality baked goods in “a small handmade atmosphere.” She said the building is barely 400 square feet, “and it’s certainly not square.”
Plans include keeping a back wall full of mirrors as homage to the building’s history as a beauty salon. Knauss is asking anyone with knowledge of the building’s history to contact her as she is interested in preserving as much of the historical aspect of the old stone building as possible.
Knauss, who has over 30 years of experience in the bakery industry, said she felt like there was a niche in Rome for really good bread. She worked at several large commercial bakeries over the years.
At one point she had hoped to open in December, but she said it keeps morphing as she tries to nail down her final business plan.
“I am food service certified, which is more than I need to have a bakery, but I am putting food service-rated equipment in there so I could do breakfasts at some point,” Knauss said. “We’re talking about putting some tables outside eventually. I’m going to be taking a little step here and little step there.”
“This is going to be a perfect addition for the area,” said Downtown Development Authority Director Amanda Carter. “There are a couple of potential new businesses for the area.”
Work to reinvigorate the North Fifth Avenue/ West Third Street Rivers Arts district is advancing in a slow and steady manner. Wayne Robinson is still fine tuning plans for a mixed-used residential/ retail development adjacent to the Courtyard by Marriott hotel on West Third Street, and Kevin Dillmon has recently acquired a building on West Third Street at North Fourth Avenue but has not yet announced plans for the structure.