In January 1992, Martha Wolf and Susan Saunders decided to turn their passion for cooking and entertaining into a full time job. Together with three friends, they each invested $100 in what was to become the Ivy Bake Shoppe.
In the beginning, the Ivy was actually a "glorified bake sale". The women met one supplier, had their own home kitchens inspected by the county health department, and finally opened their shop in the lower level of Sue's home in April 1992. The Ivy primarily consisted of a sheet covered ping pong table laden with baked goods. Soon a small neighborhood grocery store allowed the women to sell their goods on its shelves for a small commission. Three more retail outlets followed suit. Before long, Sue, Martha and the other three women were putting in the late nights and working their kitchens hard in order to keep up with the demand for their fresh quality baked goods. It was a crazy way the make a few bucks.
The initial hypothesis behind the Ivy Bake Shoppe was that women with disposable incomes wanted quality baked goods, but didn't have the time to bake at home. In addition, people liked the advantage of buying a variety of small desserts for entertaining their families. And finally they found that many people were hungry for sweets but didn't want to make them at home because they would eat the whole pan. Gradually, word of mouth about the spectacular goodies on sale in Sue's home spread, and soon the Ivy clientele expanded beyond the women's circle of friends.
By the summer of 1993, the other three women had decided to leave the crazy little enterprise. Undeterred, Sue and Martha continued baking late into the night to insure fresh quality products each week. By 1995, they began to talk about expansion and realized their potential was limited in Sue's home due to health department regulations. Martha's former husband then purchased a great building in downtown Fort Madison, and more or less pushed them into opening a restaurant.
The summer of 1995 was spent traveling to small cafes and coffee shops all over Iowa, as well as looking at any bakery/cafes when visiting families or on vacations. They knew they wanted a small cafe with fresh quality food, incredible desserts and cozy environment. The restaurant opened in November 1995.
People come from all over the country to eat at the Ivy. The staff is continually amazed with the success of the restaurant. Martha and Sue both believe the true secrets to success of the Ivy Bake Shoppe are the nurturing atmosphere and the small loyal staff. The staff has been empowered to know that they make a difference. It takes everyone to give the customers what they want: a friendly greeting, a warm and glorious atmosphere, georgous presentation of the meal, and most importantly, the sumptuous fresh tast of the food.
The customers expect the finest and the Ivy delivers. The Ivy Bake Shoppe ia a marvelous restaurant where memories are being made, friendships forged, and good food served.
Bakery sweetens town's economy
Everyone likes the Ivy Bake Shoppe & Cafe, but in the Mississippi River town of Fort Madison, Iowa, where good times appear to have drifted downstream, the busy shop is important to a community comeback, say many of the business and political leaders in the town.
See Article