By Mark Baratelli
Writer
On October 31, 2015, Rhapsodic Bakery (Web | Facebook) will close it's doors after opening March 1, 2010 at 710 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803. The reason for closing, given to us by owner Katie Andrews, is that the lease was up and she didn't want to do it anymore.
As the main baker, she's been running her bakery six days a week averaging 80-100 hours a week. Her average work day was 730am-7am.
She's been in the food industry for 15 years.
Andrews says she did the bakery for five years, it was no longer as fun as it used to be and it was, for her, time for a change.
And it's not like her bakery was doing poorly. "We are as busy as we've ever been," says Katie. "Customers love us. It's (just) time for something else."
She opened the bakery with her husband Jonathan (who runs the financial side) to see if they could even do it. She had "a ton" of allergies, including celiac. The bakery was her way of filling a need during a time in Orlando's recent foodie past when there wasn't much out there for folks with food allergies and a love for baked goods.
The food industry was not her first choice career. She wanted to be a lawyer, but that didn't work out. She's an entrepreneur with a bunch of other unrelated companies: soap, woodworking, apiary (bees) and an instrument rental company in Pennsylvania.
She's ok with leaving the bakery business behind because, as she put it, there's a lot more options out there now for vegans and folks with food allergies in Orlando.
"Orlando has one heck of a food scene. As for the vegan aspect, lot of people up and coming are doing amazing stuff," she said.
Along with providing goods for the bakery, she was the baked goods provider for Dandelion Communitea (Web | Facebook). That partnership will end along with the closing of the bakery.
The bakery employed 4 people, and at closing, two.
Most of her loyal customers are sad but happy for them and she's happy she got to be a part of the Orlando food scene.
And it's not like her bakery was doing poorly. "We are as busy as we've ever been," says Katie. "Customers love us. It's (just) time for something else."
