BRUNSWICK, Maine — The history at 111 Maine St. in downtown Brunswick goes back decades to local dining spots.
Recently, you might have noticed some good smells on Maine Street. When you walk into Ritual Bakehouse & Patisserie, you are quickly drawn to the aroma and neatly packed pastry cases.
What you may not know, all the baked goods, from sweet to savory are baked by one woman, April Robinson.
Deborah King, the executive director at Brunswick Downtown Association, said "It's a one-woman operation."
Minus her two counter workers who run the register, she is the owner and the only baker.
She didn't plan on this when she was in school for pre-med.
April Robinson said, "I was going to go back to school. I was going to do the thing. Then one year turned into 2, into 3, into 4, and then before you knew it, it was 10 years later."
Pre-med might have not been her track, but she had a vision in mind.
"I had essentially picked up a Zagat guide and sort of picked the best restaurants in NYC and decided these are the guys I want to work for," Robinson said.
She did any job in the kitchens she could, working at salad stations, and hot food lines, but funny enough, not baking, until an opportunity appeared she couldn't turn down.
"There was this one chef that I really wanted to work for, but the only position he had open was in the pastry department. And he promised to move me into the savory kitchen when they had an opening. So, I took it reluctantly. I think they always wanted to push women into baking, and I was so resistant for that reason," Robinson said.
Once she gave in and gave baking a chance, she never wanted to do anything else.
April's bakehouse opened just over a month ago and already has gained popularity.
"I went there at 10 o'clock to get a croissant. She was all sold out. At 10 o'clock in the morning, she was overwhelmed and very humbled by the experience that all the people being so supportive of her business," King said.
"I love it. I mean, that's why we do what we do. We ultimately want to feed people, and we get to feed people it's great," Robinson said.
April's feeding people alright, to the point of selling out every weekend.
The Ritual Bakehouse and Patisserie is open Thursday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. or whenever they sell out of food.