Golden Hour Bake House to open café downtown

After getting her start at the Old Capitol Farmers Market, Alli Donaldson is transitioning Golden Hour Bake House to a brick-and-mortar location downtown.

Donaldson began selling baked goods at the Farmers Market in May 2021, and last August she told SBJ that she was “eyeing some storefronts and looking at taking that next step.”

While things haven’t come together quite as quickly as she initially hoped, Donaldson said she’s now signed a lease for the space she originally explored at 11 W. Old State Capitol Plaza.

Donaldson said she takes possession of the space at the corner of Fifth and Adams streets June 1 and plans to spend the summer remodeling. “It’s got beautiful bones, so I don’t have to do too much hard work, just making it my own,” she said. “We’ve got some fun ideas to bring it back to life.”

Great House BBQ operated a restaurant in the space for a few months after relocating from a west-side location but closed permanently in March 2022. Prior to that, the building housed The Incubator, a café, bar and co-working space that closed during the early days of the pandemic.

Since she will be occupying the entire main floor, Donaldson said it will allow her to expand the offerings. “We’ll transition our business model away from just baked goods, and it will be more of a café,” she said. “We’ll have a breakfast and lunch menu, plus an espresso bar.”

Donaldson said she plans to hire staff and hopes to be open by September.