HAE’s Bakery & Coffee Shoppe hopes to have a second store open in time for the one-year anniversary of its first brick-and-mortar location in October.
“This opportunity arose faster than we had expected; we just jumped on it and away we went,” said Chris Benad, who owns the business along with his wife, Amy. The couple have signed a lease for 3844 Wabash Ave., the endcap space of the newly built Wabash Crossing Mall in front of the AMC Showplace 12 theater. Existing tenants include Better With Bubbli Boutique and Galaxy Nail Bar.
“We’re hoping to start within the next month or so on interior build out,” said Benad.
The first HAE’s Bakery & Coffee Shoppe at 821 W. Jefferson St. opened in October 2022. The couple demolished the former Family Dollar building on the site and constructed a two-story building with both indoor dining and patio seating, plus a private room for special events. The site has a double drive-thru window that is accessible from both Madison and Jefferson streets.
Benad said the new location will offer the same menu of baked goods and lunch and dinner options such as daily soup specials, salads and sandwiches. The only difference will be slightly shorter operating hours of 6 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week at the west-side location, as opposed to 5 a.m.-8 p.m. at the main store. “We catch the hospital traffic and the shift changes with those hours,” Benad explained, which wouldn’t be necessarily for the Wabash store.
According to Benad, there may eventually be multiple HAE’s locations throughout Springfield. “The community has embraced us; the support has been really good,” he said.
