Hannah’s bakery announces closure

A sweet shop in the heart of Lake Leelanau is closing its doors to start a new chapter. For many in the area, Hannah’s Bakery has been a go-to location for homemade desserts of all kinds since opening five years ago.

From the memorable gourmet-style cupcakes and custom cakes, to macaroons, cinnamon rolls, and Leelanau lemon cookies, the small business just off M-204 was treasured not only by its customers, but by its management, too.

Owner Hannah Grinage said the bakery “became a home away from home,” where she started her days around 5 a.m. and would often be working until 5 p.m. Throughout the years, she said she got to know every nook and cranny of the space, something she will miss so much about the bakery. Most of all, Grinage said she will miss the people that she met.

“Cake decorating has been my artistic outlet and I miss it already,” Grinage said. “I love the challenge of a new or difficult design and truly enjoyed using frosting as my paint… Throughout the five years in business, customers, employees, and fellow small business owners became friends. I even had a customer, turned employee, turned forever friend, for which I feel truly grateful.”

While it may be the end of an era for the bakery, it’s the start of something new for Grinage. Last year, she was offered the opportunity to join the Parenting Communities program and took on the position as a community health coordinator. While Grinage worked with the program, a fellow baker expressed interest in learning and managing Hannah’s with the help of her daughter. The duo have been running the shop since last May. With Parenting Communities, Grinage said she was able to use her business and teaching skills in a completely new way.

“Sometimes life presents opportunities that are too special to ignore. That is how I felt when we opened Hannah’s. The perfect space became available at the perfect time, and my dream came to life,” she said. “The choice to close the business happened in much the same way… This career shift has been a big pivot for me, but getting to work in our community with families, young children, and the Parenting Communities team has been a joy and feels like exactly where I belong. It also allows me much more time with my husband and our three children, which is priceless.”

The business evolved and adapted every year. Grinage said when the storefront opened on Leap Day in 2020, it served freshly baked cupcakes and cookies, as well as eight flavors of ice cream from Hilltop Soda Shoppe. However, just a month after Hannah’s opening in 2020, the COVID pandemic began and businesses like hers had to rethink their approach.

Grinage said in these years, they refocused the business on baked goods and moved more towards a wholesale model with self-serve for customers.

“During the first few years in business ‘pivot’ became our go-to word,” she said. “If you frequented the bakery through the years you found us serving customers in any way that we could. First there was a side door/window installed for safe distancing, then we and the distillery moved to serving out our front windows, next there was an interior plastic wall, and when COVID restrictions were lifted the real changes began. With the introduction of sandwiches to the menu we rearranged our small space to make production as efficient as possible.”

While Grinage says she has no immediate plans to pursue baking in the future, she said she can’t imagine a world without Leelanau Lemons, cowboy cookies, and all the cupcakes, and encourages those interested to keep in touch via their social media pages in the meantime.

“I want to thank our Leelanau community for embracing my dream with me. Thank you for all of your support through the years,” she said. “Thank you for sharing your teenagers with me each summer to come scoop ice cream, and be the friendly faces of the bakery. Thank you for rolling with all of the many pivots. Thank you Leelanau - for everything.”