After going years without a bakery in downtown Riverside, the village’s downtown business district will have two come spring.
Flur, a bakery specializing in gluten-free products and classic French macarons opened in the Arcade Building in 2013. Fiore Gourmet Bakery will open in the ground-floor corner space of the Tower Apartments, 28 Forest Ave., sometime in either March or April.
“We’re going to be a full-service bakery,” said owner Jori Jerabek, who is moving her business to Riverside from Oakbrook Terrace, where she’s been since 2011.
In May of that year Jerabek opened Fiore Cupcake Boutique in a cramped storefront west of Route 83 on 22nd Street. Her clientele consisted principally of employees of the many corporations scattered in the area, and catering soon became the business’ bread and butter.
“My demographics were 90 percent corporate business,” Jerabek said. “That’s how we became so successful.”
In January, Jerabek announced that the business had outgrown its space and would move to Riverside into the space that formerly was home to Principle Dance. She closed the cupcake boutique, though the catering operation is still humming.
“I made seven deliveries today,” said Jerabek in an interview last week. “I continue to make deliveries to that area for my clients.”
The challenge now is to get the Riverside space built out, a task that comes with its own quirks in Riverside. Last month she appeared before the Riverside Preservation Commission to get approval for an oven vent she needed to install on the exterior of the building.
“It’s a lot of work, but the space is magnificent,” she said.
The change in venue is also coming with a change in the way Jerabek is approaching her business. While catering still will be a primary facet of the business, she’s moving away from the specialty cupcake model and toward a full-service bakery that will also specialize in Italian baked goods.
“This is a totally different animal in Riverside,” said Jerabek. “It’s going to be a transition, but I’m certain we’ll form good relationships with the residents there.”
Fiore Gourmet Bakery’s retail area will have seating, a spot that Jerabek said she wants to become “more of a gathering place.”
Though catering remains a top priority, the space is important.
“You need the retail space for people to peruse; that’s how it all begins,” said Jerabek. “People want to see where that wedding cake is going to come from.”
The bakery will also cater to commuters heading to the train and to Riverside’s joggers and bike riders.
“We’re going to have more portable food for the train commuters who are having their breakfast on the go,” she said, “and there’ll be a small section of homemade yogurt and other healthy things.”
Italian specialties will include pastries, cookies, pizzelles and other items. The bakery will also sell kolackys, as well as coffee, espresso and lattes.
“It’s more of an old-school bakery,” she said.
But first, Jerabek will have to get the space built out, and that could take another couple of months.
“I’d like to open in March, but there are so many things to contend with, it’ll be March or April.”
Photos: Fiore Cupcake Boutique in Oakbrook Terrace
