I love win-win scenarios (who doesn’t love double the wins?). And visiting On the Rise Bakery Café in Detroit was a definite win-win: I got to support a good cause and tote home a loaf of gloriously tasty sourdough bread, to boot.
On the Rise Bakery Café is an entity of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, a Detroit-based nonprofit that provides community support via such initiatives as its substance abuse support group, youth enrichment program, and eponymous soup kitchen.
On the Rise, specifically, lends that community support by employing men and women who have recently completed a drug treatment program or been incarcerated. Proceeds from bakery sales support its employees and services offered by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
As the bakery’s mission is described on the Capuchin Soup Kitchen website: “With each purchase of our baked goods, you are helping make possible the provision of supportive housing, training, counseling services, educational opportunities, and self help programs. On the Rise Bakery Café is a program where each man is responsible to reach back and support the newest member.”
I love the community support and mentoring aspects of that mission! On the Rise is helping people who have recently been through challenging circumstances better their lives – so that they, in turn, can help others to grow stronger. What an empowering model.
Entering On the Rise’s tidy storefront on the Saturday afternoon of my visit, I was greeted by several employees. The bakery’s wares were currently limited, they informed me, because baking doesn’t occur on Saturdays and because Saturday mornings are a popular time for purchases. But, as luck would have it, one quantity of exactly what I was looking for was still available: a loaf of sourdough bread. It was affordably priced at $4.
I’ve been enjoying that sourdough bread (I froze what I didn’t eat initially) as toast; its delectably chewy texture has made it an ideal accompaniment to both mashed avocado and spinach artichoke dip. Mmmm – just thinking about that sourdough toast makes me want to whip up some right now – perhaps as the bookends to a grilled cheese sandwich?
Besides offering various baked goods such as breads, rolls, cookies, coffee cakes, cheesecakes, pies, turnovers, and muffins, On the Rise also sells house-made soups and sandwiches, chili, ice cream, and beverages such as pop, coffee, and juice (hence the café aspect of its name). Seating inside the storefront allows patrons to sit and enjoy meals.
On the Rise Bakery Café is doing the good work, providing delectable wares plus a difference-making mission – and that is a definite win times two!
8900 Gratiot Ave.
Detroit, MI 48213
(Closed Sundays and Mondays)
100 Places in the D 