Sun shines on Sunrise Bakery once again

Nearly two years after closing, Sunrise Bakery has once again broken the horizon, returning with familiar and new treats.

Originally set to open by the end of 2024 with owner Richard Freeman setting his target opening date as Oct.31, the bakery ran into what General Manager Neily Dowlin said was “a bunch of red tape” that delayed the bakery’s opening.

These barriers included waiting for final approval from the Board of Health, meeting the necessary building codes, replacing kitchen appliances and remodeling the building’s interior.

Dowlin , who joined the management team at the beginning of the winter, said they “pretty much had to redo the entire building, from an electric standpoint to plumbing, to even the hoods in the kitchen.”

“Even though it was winter, it made us sweat,” he said.

Focused on renovating the building and replacing equipment, it wasn’t until Sunrise got its final approval from the Board of Health that Dowlin and other employees felt like they were cooks, chefs or restaurateurs, Dowlin said.

He added that they were a bit shaky and nervous and were questioning whether they should delay the opening another week until “the mode of being in the hospitality industry just kicked back in.”

“It’s a very rewarding feeling to know that we actually pulled it off,” Dowlin said.

Several employees worked at Sunrise before it closed in May 2023, bringing back with them knowledge about previous menu items and how to run the bakery.

Food such as linguiça rolls made their return, with a resurgence that one returning employee wasn’t expecting, Dowlin said.

“He had to run down to the bakery [in New Bedford] for a second trip and he’s like, ‘I have no idea why. We never sold these up here. They never worked,’” he said.

“Now we’re actually having to refill because people are just grabbing them,” he added.

Sunrise Bakery held its soft launch on Saturday, March 1, which Dowlin said the Sunrise staff were nervous for.

“You want to do it right and you don’t know if you’re going to disappoint the customers,” he said, adding that when the day started going they saw “all the faces just showing up and people are just happy.”

Since then, Sunrise has kept busy.

“This morning we had a line out the door,” Dowlin said on Tuesday, March 4. “Every other person said the same thing — ‘Happy you’re back. Welcome back.’”

Mckenna Costa, who used to live across the street from Sunrise and grew up going to the bakery said it felt “good” to have the bakery back.

“It’d been closed for a bit, so I definitely missed the food,” she said, adding that the majority of the menu was the same.

Costa also said that the bakery is “definitely more new [and] more updated,” adding it has a new vibe.

Cole Teles, who grew up on the border of Dartmouth and New Bedford, said he remembers going to Sunrise when he was “very small” and would get cakes from the bakery “all the time.”

“Now that I’m a full grown adult, it feels good to be back,” he said.

Teles said that when Sunrise closed it wasn’t the “greatest news,” adding that the bakery was “definitely something that needed to come back.”

He added that he was “very happy” that Sunrise reopened, adding that the re-opening was “nostalgic.”

“It feels good to be back,” Teles said.

Dowlin said the bakery is currently working to modernize the drive-thru and is planning to add to the menu combination meals.

“You just point to one item, and it’s like everything you’re getting in one container,” he said. “It’s a complete lunch — from the snack all the way to the drink — instead of you having to pick out four or five different things in order to put a lunch together.”

He added that by introducing these meals Sunrise will make people’s lives “easy, more efficient, and just keep it simple.”

“We put all the work in it to make it simple for the customer,” Dowlin said.