Gather Bakery, known for its fresh bread, delicious pastries, and sweet treats, is opening a brick-and-mortar in Batavia, located at 114 E. Wilson St.
The company’s first storefront will make its debut in the Batavia Boardwalk Shops on Friday, May 12, according to the Daily Herald. Co-owners Deanna Keilty and her husband, Eric, have been selling their baked goods from farmer’s markets in St. Charles and Batavia. The two now hope to use this space to test the brick-and-mortar concept, with hopes of moving to a larger location in downtown Batavia. Other eateries coming to the Boardwalk Shops this year include Fancy Nancy Boards and the Blue Owl Market.
While the Batavia Boardwalk Shops are only open seasonally, it has been known to produce visibility that usually results in businesses opening a brick-and-mortar in the future. One example of this is Light & Pine Collective, which opened a location at the boardwalk in 2020 before opening a storefront in Downtown Batavia the following year. Gather Bakery hopes this will be the same situation for them, as the Batavia Boardwalk usually attracts countless foot traffic.
“We can’t WAIT to open up in this cute little shop in Batavia this May,” the owners wrote on the company’s social media on March 21. “I got to go check it out tonight, and I’m so excited to start filling it with all the fresh breads and cookies!”
This will be the second bakery from Deanna and Eric, who moved from Arizona to Illinois in 2021. The two opened Ginger Brick Bakery in Chandler before moving the company to Illinois. Ginger Brick Bakery appeared at the Queen Creek Feastival but never materialized into a storefront. Now the couple is getting ready to try again, this time as Gather Bakery.
