Keeping up with downtown bakeries Sasha’s, Scratch and Bloom

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles” isn’t really about baked goods. It means something akin to the Spanish que sera sera (what will be, will be) or, simply, “that’s life.”

The better the cookie, however, the sweeter the that’s-life crumble. That’s what I came away thinking this past week after visiting three distinctive downtown bakeries that have changed hands in recent months, or are about to.

Two months ago, The Pitch reported that Ted Habiger and his wife, Jackie Kincaid Habiger — owners of the metro’s two Room 39 restaurants — were planning to purchase Michelle Schepmann’s two-year-old Sasha’s Baking Co., at 105 West Ninth Street. That deal hasn’t closed yet — “We’re close, very close,” Jackie Kincaid Habiger tells me — but it’s safe to say that the couple have significant plans for the stylish urban bake shop.

Not far from Sasha’s, Scratch Bakery (310 West Eighth Street) recently altered its business plan. Brad Killen and Dylan Jones purchased the Soho Bakery from Robin Krause in 2014 as a venue for a wholesale bakery operation. (Krause recently opened the new Unbakery & Juicery in east Brookside.) A year later, Jones left Scratch to return to his home state of Arkansas, and Killen is the sole owner. What started as a primarily wholesale operation (cookies and other goodies for coffeehouses and restaurants) now includes a full-service bakery and café in the former Garment District building.

Wholesale is still, pun intended, Killen’s bread and butter. (A dozen varieties are made here, along with scones, muffins and a daily pizza.) Recently hired pastry chef Sarah Alley oversees the kitchen, which was expanded two years ago. Killen himself has no background in baking. The graduate of Ozark Christian College considered the ministry — his degree is in theology — but went the business route instead.

Now that Scratch is operated only by Killen, he’s moving some of his plans, he says, from the back burner to the front. On Monday, March 7, the Scratch Café introduced a menu of fresh juices. On March 21, the café launches a full menu of lunch items: salads, panini sandwiches and wraps.

This month is also the first anniversary of former nurse Sarah Darby’s purchase of Bloom Baking Co., in the City Market (15 East Third Street). Darby, who also had no bakery background, bought the six-year-old business last year from original owners Janet O’Toole and Stephen Zaragoza.

“The learning curve was pretty big,” Darby tells me, “but Janet stayed on to help me through the transition and the staff all stayed with me. So things moved very comfortably.”

Darby hasn’t made serious changes — “I wanted to go through one cycle of seasons to see what worked,” she says — but will soon introduce her first innovation: a cart called Bloom Express that will be positioned outside the bakery on weekends, offering a limited grab-and-go selection of sweet and savory items, coffee and cold beverages.

“We often have a line of people waiting to get into the bakery on weekends,” Darby says. “The cart will help with that, letting patrons quickly get what they want.”

Darby plans a soft opening for the new cart in April.