VICKSBURG, MI — Looking right at home in a 167-year-old, renovated downtown Vicksburg building, Mackenzies Bakery brings decades of tradition to the village.
The bakery, at 103 E. Prairie St., opened its doors to the public on Thursday, April 14 and will serve up long-time favorites such as Struan and Pretzel bread, known to lovers of the similarly named, MacKenzie’s Bakery in Kalamazoo, which closed its doors in December 2020.
Now 90 years after Nona MacKenzie began selling bread, sweet rolls, pies and potato fried cakes from a roadside stand in South Haven, and 42 years after her grandson brought the three-generation business to Kalamazoo, the family name lives again, albeit with a slight, intentional change and new owner.
Related: MacKenzies’ Bakery: From a 1930s roadside stand to one of the best doughnuts in Michigan
In addition to consulting with former owner John MacKenzie, new bakery owner Chris Moore brought along a pair of longtime MacKenzie’s employees to head up daily operations, including general manager Jill Younger, who has been with the bakery 20 years, and head baker Cris Najar.
Younger told MLive that in the months leading up to opening she would receive a couple dozen emails a week from longtime customers and residents of Vicksburg, asking when they’d open. They also asked if they would continue to carry signature breads such as Struan — a slightly sweet wheat bread made with brown rice, brown sugar, buttermilk and oats.
“Everyone’s just been so excited,” she said of the opening of the 1,700 square-foot space, located next door to the Prairie Ronde Artist Gallery, which will, at times, offer table space to enjoy baked goods and coffee.
In addition to Struan and Pretzel breads, the bakery will be serving up scratch-baked Crispy Italian, Harvest Grain and Paesano breads, along with Crispy and French Baguettes, and a variety of cookies, muffins and jams, as well as Kalamazoo’s well-known Factory Coffee brand, Younger said.
Located just 12 miles south of Kalamazoo in the former home of Doris-Lee’s Sweet Shop and The Brass Rail, the new bakery is the first of many projects that the 57-year-old Moore — who owns seven other downtown properties as well as the Mill at Vicksburg — intends to bring to his hometown of Vicksburg.
Related: Ambitious redevelopment seeks $1.35M to clean up shuttered mill
“He’s working really hard to create a thriving Vicksburg and make it a lot more vibrant than it already is,” said Jackie Koney, chief operating officer of Paper City Development, Moore’s Vicksburg-based company. “He just wants to bring more to his hometown.”
Koney said she recalls Moore, a resident of Seattle, telling her more than 20 years ago when the building at 103 E. Prairie St. went vacant that he wanted to own it someday.
“He called it the most beautiful building in town,” she said. “He’s always had this vision and there was always a dream to have a bakery. It was just a matter of when.”
When wasn’t supposed to be now, and the bakery wasn’t intended to be the first project he would complete, Koney said, but when MacKenzie’s bakery was put up for sale, it presented an opportunity to bring a well-known brand with a loyal following to downtown Vicksburg. And that opportunity was too good to pass up.
“I fondly remember walking with grade school classmates to downtown Vicksburg with a quarter in hand excited to buy a turnover from Otto’s Bakery,” Moore said. “My hope is that a visit to Mackenzies Bakery will create a new generation’s worth of memories for residents and visitors in our hometown.”
Related: Legacy of longtime Kalamazoo bakery lives on as brand’s new owner brings Mackenzies to Vicksburg
The bakery, which features photos of the MacKenzie’s of yesteryear, as well as all the same recipes, put a smile on the now retired John MacKenzie’s face when he came to a “bread-cutting ceremony” last week.
“Chris Moore and his team have really captured the essence of a small-town bakery while incorporating modern functionality,” MacKenzie said. “The space has so much natural light and charm, along with the best baking oven in the industry.
“It just brings a smile to my face knowing the legacy continues with this Vicksburg location.”
The bakery is open from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, visit www.mackenziesbakery.com. Contact the bakery at (269) 475-5015.
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April 15, 2022 at 01:45AM
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