Bakery opens in memory of owner’s late husband
Jim Polk, 53, of Commerce Township died only a month after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“We had plans and dreams that were yet to be fulfilled. … Pancreatic cancer crept into my family and took away my best friend. It stole our future together, it took my children’s father, it made sure our grandson never got to meet his papa, it crushed our future,” said Jodie, his wife of 28 years.
Jim and Jodie Polk met in culinary school, and, because of their mutual passion for baking, founded the catering company Culinary Combo together in 1989.
“I thought the Culinary Combo died with Jim, so I started working part-time at a law firm. But I would come home and still bake,” said Jodie.
She soon realized that she still wanted a career in baking. So, two years after her husband’s death, Jodie and her daughter Jessica Barris decided to open the first brick and mortar Culinary Combo Bakery in Jim’s memory.
“Jim has definitely been our guiding force,” said Jodie.
This week is the grand opening of Culinary Combo Bakery, located at 29260 Franklin Road #126, Southfield, inside the Claymoor Apartment Complex.
To celebrate the opening, they’re offering specials throughout the week – a free hand pie with an in-store purchase of $15 or more on Thursday, a free chocolate dipped pretzel with the purchase of bakeat-home cookie dough or mini cupcakes on Friday, and a free Halloween treat on Friday for customers who come dressed in costume.
Jodie said the opening of the new business “isn’t the same without the missing piece of the puzzle,” but she’s hoping, with the beginning of this new chapter of her life, she can start to be happy again.
For more information, visit www.culinarycombo. com or call 248- 624-9594. Their hours are 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.