For many, starting a new career is a long and slow march toward rebuilding success. For Neva Austin, the transition from her job in sales to follow her passion of baking was far more direct. Austin began selling her breads under the name
Aggie Mae, at farmers markets in July of 2009. By September, she’d moved into a permanent space at the
Lansing City Market. Two years later, she is now opening a second location in Old Town, soon after expanding her City Market space in April.
“It just kind of exploded,” Austin says. Her City Market expansion included the addition of the Aggie Mae Market Deli, serving deli salads and lunch meat along with her famous breads. She hired a new staffer to help with that space, and expects to hire up to two more when she opens into a 1,200 square foot Old Town location in early December.
“The business owners in Old Town were encouraging,” Austin says, explaining her decision to locate there. “They all said, ‘We could really use a baker in Old Town,’ and they have been so embracing of my business. The energy of Old Town is extraordinary.”
Austin is currently renovating the new bakery, which she hopes to open in a limited capacity on December 3. Even as the new space is opening, she has plans for how her City Market space will evolve.
“We hope to convert our space there to be a gluten free market,” she says. “There is a huge demand for that here.”
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