SPRINGFIELD — A local bakery will soon unveil a new look at a new location, but the goodies found inside will remain unchanged.
Within the next three weeks, Schuler’s Bakery will close its location at 1948 Mitchell Blvd. and open a new store at 2968 Derr Road in the Northland Plaza shopping center.
Schuler’s original store at 457 E. Main St. will remain open.
“We anticipate no break in service. We’ll close Mitchell Boulevard in the afternoon, then move everything over here (to Derr Road) and open there the next morning,” said Mike Peters, Schuler’s executive vice president of operations.
The decision to move came after conversations between Peters and third-generation owner Trent Schuler about the condition of the Mitchell Boulevard store.
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“The time came to evaluate our locations, so Trent and I sat down and had to decide if it was better to put money into the (existing) facility or find a new location. With the building being outdated and the parking problems, it was better to find a new location,” Peters said.
Schuler’s grandfather opened the Mitchell Boulevard location in 1972 because International Harvester, now Navistar, with more than 7,000 employees, was just around the corner.
Nearby, there was also a bowling alley, a couple of popular bars and busy softball fields nearby, “but nothing that was is there now,” Schuler said.
The two decided on Derr Road because they said they felt a majority of the county’s population could be well-served from that location.
New products and services — including gourmet coffees and while-you-wait custom-decorated baked goods — will be available at the 3,500-square-foot Derr Road store, some immediately, with others to be phased in over the next year.
Although Peters wouldn’t share specifics, he did say Schuler’s will be bringing back some recipes Springfield hasn’t tasted in decades.
“We’ll reintroduce recipes from 20 or 30 years ago and add some new items,” he said, “but we’ll still use only our own recipes.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or elroberts@coxohio.com.