Old-fashioned meets New Age…
Best of both worlds at new Emporium business

Rick McLean and daughter Brittany work in the shadow of the bakery counter at the soon-to-beopened Aroma Baker in Emporium.

The soft, sweet smell of freshly-baked breads, rolls and warm, friendly service will be the only accents customers will find to be old-fashioned in a new business set to open soon in Emporium.

Because after that, what customers will experience is planned to be very different than what they are used to.

Imagine a 1950s mom and pop bakery being melded into a hip, 21st-century Internet cafe.

That's essentially what customers can expect to experience at Aroma Bakery and Cafe, a cafe-style restaurant and Internet cafe that is expected to open by month's end at 51 E. 4th St.- in the building the McLeans bought from Jack Solveson, at the corner of Chestnut St., across the street from the State Store.

Owner Mary Kay McLean has ambitious plans for the business, which will be managed by Leslie Franceus who has 20 years of experience in the food service industry.

"I really wanted to provide jobs in the community," McLean said, "and at the same time, Leslie had a vision for a very unique kind of restaurant. So we put our heads together and started working on the plan. and it just kept growing."

Indeed, it did.

Plans include a cafe style restaurant that will feature freshly made sandwiches on bread baked on the premises, as well as daily specials and locally themed food items, such as the Baguba Burger, the Storm Salad, the Red Raider Roast Beef Sandwich and Cameron County Kick'n Chick'n Salad. In addition, several homemade soups will be featured daily.

If caffeinated beverages are your cup of tea, you'll have a nice selection from which to choose: latte, flavored coffee, frappacino, cappacino and, of course, good old-fashioned java. There will be fountain drinks for the soda fans.

But what Aroma Bakery seeks to offer goes beyond the products for the palate.

"The vision was to create a place where people can come for a great meal in a place that feels like an extension of their home," Franceus explained. "People like choices and they are going to have many, including healthy food alternatives. It's going to be the kind of place people really enjoy being at."

To insure that statement, the business plan calls for frequent live musical entertainment, performed on a "stage" that is built into a corner of the 2,000 square foot space. Internet users can bring the portable devices and log onto the business' free, wireless, high speed service. There will also be a couple desktop computers available for customer use.

A for-rent meeting room, called the "gathering room" has been built in the back. It will accommodate birthday parties, showers, corporate meetings and other similar functions. Customers will have the option of having their event catered by Aroma Bakery. The business will also offer outside catering.

The cafe will be open at 10 a.m. daily. Closing will be 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 11 p.m. Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday.

A staff of 16 has been hired. An exact opening day has not yet been set. Watch this paper for additional details.