NORWAY — Storefronts in Norway continue to mix it up. The latest shift is the news that Katherine’s Bakery & Café, which opened last September at 238 Main Street, will quadruple its size next spring when it moves a couple of blocks up to 248 Main Street.
Owner Katherine Olinkiewicz did not expect to outgrow her store so quickly but when her silent partner (her dad) saw the opportunity to buy a neighboring building that would accommodate expansion they made their move. Now, renovations are already underway and Olinkiewicz says her grand re-opening will happen within 10 weeks.
“It’s been very, very busy,” she told the Advertiser Democrat a few days after closing on the new store. “We outgrew this place really quickly. We sell out of baked goods almost every day, it’s a little crazy. There are a lot of things I have not been able to do.”
Space has been a challenge almost from the start, like trying to fill an order of more than 3,000 whoopie pies in three days, or having such busy lunches that it can take up to 40 minutes for customers to pick up their orders.
“I offered lunch originally just to have something to throw in there,” she said. “Now, it’s probably 50% of our business. I guess you could say we fed a big monster and now we have to keep feeding it.”
Katherine Olinkiewicz (left) and staff member Justin Barton of Katherine’s Bakery & Café in Norway will soon serve pastries from a new location. Before being her employee, Barton hired Olinkiewicz to work for him at the Lake Store. “I hired her because of her cupcake tattoos,” Barton quipped “Then I followed her here.” Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
Olinkiewicz has not been able to introduce some of the goods she originally intended, such as specialty smoothies. The new space will allow that and more, including ice cream cakes – a specialty of hers, cappuccinos and more baked goods, and to-go dinner options.
“I will have a hot steam table so we can offer a hot meal every day,” she said. “People can come in and pick and choose what they want. There might be lasagna and maybe a chicken kind of meal, a choice of rice or potato, and vegetables. Customers will tell us how much they want in their container.
“We’ll be introducing a couple of fun new dessert type things, but I‘m not ready to discuss that yet. In the future I may add breads. I plan to offer them one day a week and we’ll see how it goes.
“I am all for suggestions, so if people say what they’d like to see we’ll try to do it. We love suggestions.”
More space and products mean more employees. Olinkiewicz said her staff will increase from four (including herself) to at least six or seven. More space also means adding three tables co customers will be able to eat it. Olinkiewicz has also applied to accept EBT payments.
“Lunch is so busy, we ask that if people know what they want to order they call it in. Our new place has its own parking, which will good for our customers.”
It has been a whirlwind since September, with the bakery taking off faster and bigger than Olinkiewicz ever expected.
“I really thought I’d just run this small place. I would hire just a couple of people, and warm the hearts of people with lovely food,” she said. “But it’s just so much bigger. I either have to follow it or stay really tiny.
“I am happy that I have so much support around here. Not just in town, but Oxford Hills, and I even have customers who will drive up from Massachusetts to come get my food. It’s heartwarming to know that people love my stuff. And I have a great team that loves to bake and cook.”
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