“Dear Bloomingdale neighbors,
As you may have heard by now, Sylvan Cafe and Bakery is coming to the neighborhood!
First let us say how grateful we are to Sara Fatell and the beautiful establishment she created in Grassroots Gourmet. Our top priority as the new owners of this space will be to honor her creation of a warm and inclusive community gathering spot where neighbors can come and enjoy great food, drink and company.
It’s no accident that when we chose to launch another business we did it close to home. From the day we opened Bacio Pizzeria around the corner on Seaton Place, Bloomingdale has been an incredibly welcoming community. From Bloomingdale Toddler Soccer Team to the annual Crispus Attucks Park community yard sale to participating in Bloomingdale Beautification Day we have tried to support it right back. And when we saw an opportunity open our next dream business – a bakery! — right in the same neighborhood and build on the relationships we have with our beloved customers, we jumped at it.
Which brings us to the name, Sylvan Café and Bakery.
We’re history buffs – you might have seen our old neighborhood photographs up at Bacio – and we love that our building used to be a movie theater. One afternoon when we were bouncing around possible names for the new bakery, we looked up and wondered what it would take to restore the sign. That’s when the lightbulbs went on – at least in our own heads. We’d be the Sylvan Café and revive some of the fascinating history of the neighborhood. We are planning to bring the beautiful Sylvan sign back to life as well – though it may take a little while as we investigate the best way to restore it in a historically sensitive manner.
In the meantime, we plan to open soon serving a wide array of fresh baked goods. We know there’s been some word on the street about us becoming a bagel shop – but please know we’ll be that and so much more. We have an in-house pastry chef and we anticipate serving up breads, cakes, and traditional European pastries as well as fresh sandwiches and paninis. We’re still in the process of developing our menu, so stay tuned!
Please follow us on Twitter @sylvancafe and Facebook for opening day news, and we look forward to serving you!
Thank you,
Sylvan Cafe & Bakery family”
104 Rhode Island Ave, NW
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