Aprons on

For nearly five years, the little building at 117 W. Bridge has been home to Sweet Marie's Bakeshop. On any given day, except Sunday, between 6:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. one can find the small structure hosting a handful of residents or tourists hoping to get a caffeine fix, a cupcake for the road or buffalo-shaped sugar cookies. While the demand for the services of owner Marie Christen grew, the building located between Saratoga Auto Parts and Strong Tower Designs couldn't. Marie, and husband Tyler, were at a crossroads.

"With three small kids, under the age of four, and Tyler working full time and me working full time it was just a matter of 'What do we do?'" said Christen. "Daycare is a really hard thing to try and juggle."

It is not an uncommon sight to see Christen gliding from one end of the bakery to the other with her youngest child strapped to her back, often asleep.

"We weren't sure how we wanted to go about the business. I was honestly looking for a sign and so I prayed about it for a while," said Christen. "The night that I won business of the year from the chamber, that night Laurie Forrester told me that Bill and Chris Fournier wanted to offer the building to me before it went on the market and so I felt like that was my sign."

Christen officially closed on the building at 107 W. Bridge on April 2 of this year. Hat Creek Saddlery and Trading Post officially closed its doors on May 28. On May 29, the Christens went to work updating the interior of the building, giving it a facelift and burning the candles at both ends to prepare for a summer opening-at least for the mercantile.

"First of all, we really love what Hat Creek had to offer to Saratoga. They had a lot for the tourists, they had a lot of gifts for locals. We wanted to continue that tradition in a way," said Christen.

One thing they won't be able to offer that the Fourniers did, however, is the leatherwork.

"I don't know how to make saddles, Tyler doesn't know how to make saddles," Christen said, "so we had to cut that part out of it, but we do have someone that will be one of our vendors that can offer to make saddles for people."

For branding purposes, Christen decided to stay with the name Sweet Marie. So, the original building will undergo yet another of many name changes it has seen over the years from Hat Creek Saddlery and Trading Post to Sweet Marie's Mercantile. Christen said that the feel she is going for with the products she will carry can be described as "western meets farmhouse." She has also reached out to local vendors to showcase their wares.

"I also wanted to include some of the locals that have their own brand in a way, like Pure Dixie. Brooke Seits has a brand called 'Meadow Lark' which is metal jewelry and other things, but she will sell her jewelry in here as well," said Christen.

As for the more recent addition to the building, Christen plans to turn that into the new location for Sweet Marie's Bakeshop. While Christen is hoping to have the mercantile open on or before July 4, the bakeshop will take some more time.

"We're waiting for the health inspector and the fire marshall on a few things and we have to get a vent hood system in here, so there's a lot more renovation on this side," Christen said.

She is still excited about the increase in space, though. Christen will go from six seats in her current location to 30 or 40 in the new spot once it is ready to open. While the mercantile will be open seven days a week, the bakeshop will still have the same hours.

"Saratoga is a great tourist area, but at the same time I want to be able to provide a level of quality and service to my locals during the winter because that's who I really depend on."