*Pamela Snyder never planned to own a bakery. She was content running a bread stand outside her home in Portage*, selling sourdough and cookies to neighbors who loved her baking.
Then a cancer diagnosis forced her to retire in 2023. She got through treatment. And she decided to take a leap of faith.
From driveway stand to storefront
Snyder opened Nice Bread at 8903 Portage Road on May 1. The bakery is the latest small business to take root in Portage's commercial corridors.
"I have zero professional baking experience. I am a retired bookkeeper," Snyder said, according to an MLive.com report.
Snyder found the space still equipped with commercial cooking equipment. She signed a one-year lease and got to work.
Her son and business partner, Alex Mabry, joined her in launching the bakery.
A community that showed up
The bread stand outside Snyder's home had already built a local following. People in Portage knew her sourdough and her cookies. When Nice Bread opened its doors, those customers followed.
The bakery represents a personal victory for Snyder. She beat cancer. She left behind a career as a bookkeeper. And she turned a hobby into a business with her son by her side.
Nice Bread operates at 8903 Portage Road in Portage, Michigan.
This story was reported from an MLive.com article by Devin Anderson-Torrez.