About us
The story behind Sunflour Bakery began many years ago when Elizabeth Carlson was employed at Baklajava, a bakery formerly located at 10 East Main Street in the Village. "I started working at Baklajava in the early 2000's when my two youngest were in elementary school," she explains. Working under owner Betsy Ern, Elizabeth began as counter help. "Eventually, Betsy asked if I wanted to try baking, and then I began cake decorating. She gave me my start - I didn't know that I had any cake decorating talent,: she adds.
Even at a young age, the Carlson children, Emma, Annie, Ali, and Rob, were willing to lend a hand as their mother learned her trade. "While I was working at Baklajava, the kids would take the school bus to the store, and they would help us out," recalls Elizabeth. "We would get milk cartons for them to stand on, and they would put on little aprons and help do the dishes and measure out ingredients. They were always involved at the store, and got paid in food.
The idea for Sunflour Bakery came from daughter Ali. Explains Rob Carlson: "Ali was the biggest instigator. She thought it was a good opportunity since she had just graduated from URI and could help out, so she started looking for places." Eventually the family settled on the 1800-square-foot location at 5 Broad Street in the village. Previously, the location had been the site of a printer, a butcher shop, a machine shop, a car dealership, among other things.
Once the location was decided on, the Carlsons began renovating the space to turn it into a bakery. "The first step was to make the layout for the kitchen, and then Ali and her then boyfriend Chris (now husband Chris!) wanted to include space for community events and birthday parties," says Rob. "We want everyone to be comfortable."ext
