Cloud 9 closure breaks hearts
Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2008
- <I>Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain</I><BR>Running a restaurant/bakery is a community project, and Sharon Hays - owner of the soon-to-close Cloud 9 Bakery and Cafe - acknowledges that much of her success is due to her "super crew." From left to right: Brenda Payne of Enterprise, Bobbie Rogers of Lostine and Hays of Joseph.
A local favorite in a landmark building is closing its doors in March, and the mourning has already started.
Cloud 9 Bakery and Café on SE First Street in Enterprise is turning off the ovens. Ted and Sharon Hays, owners of the historic Fire House building since 1983, are retiring.
The Hays clan, which descends from early Wallowa County homesteaders, have had three generations of family members working in the bakery. Every one of the three Hays children has spent time in the kitchen or dining room, and now the grandkids like to wait on customers and clear tables, Sharon said.
The Hays didn’t originally intend to be bakers.
“Ted and I bought the Firehouse when the building had just two big garage doors in front and nothing (of a restaurant nature) inside,” Sharon recalled. “We remodeled it for a renter – a bakery business, the Old Firehouse Bakery.”
When the managers of that enterprise moved to a new location, the Hayses decided to fill the area’s bakery needs by opening Cloud 9.
Since then, locals have flocked to the establishment.
“The best thing about owning a business in this area is the people,” Sharon said. “The customers are super; we’ve had customers that have eaten lunch here every day for 26 years.”
“Regulars” at the café include The Friday Ladies, a group of women who reserve the back room every Friday for socializing, and courthouse regulars.
“Tourists have always been just an added bonus for us,” Sharon said. “We catered to the locals. I’ve made birthday cakes for just about every kid in the county.”
Even though there are no other bakeries in either Joseph or Enterprise, no one has stepped up to take over Cloud 9.
“We’ve had it for sale for eight years,” Sharon said. “We’ve had some little nibbles, but nobody serious.”
The Hayses hate to leave Enterprise without a bakery. They would prefer to sell the business rather than sell off the equipment and then the building. However, it’s retirement time, Sharon Hays said, and what will be will be.
“Our customers all say, ‘We understand . . . but what are we going to do! Where are we going to get cakes and eat lunch!'” Sharon said.
