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Katie Erickson opened Moms Bread Co. for a soft opening on Saturday and will open for regular hours Feb. 19. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

Moms Bread Co. will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

Erickson said she tried to brighten up the space, which formerly was occupied by Crescendo Fine Dining. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

Items through the Key & Co. and a few other local vendors will be for sale at the business. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

The entryway includes an array of pans hung on the wall. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune

For many years, Katie Erickson has had a distant dream to someday open a bakery.

A married mother of three young children, she said she has always loved baking.

“My mom baked, my grandma baked — it’s kind of what I grew up doing,” Erickson said.

She and her husband, Brent, who is one of the part-owners of 112 on Broadway, were casually looking for a location for the bakery, when the former Crescendo Fine Dining building  on Broadway came up for lease.

“The ball just started rolling, and things came about pretty quick,” she said.

Since October they have been hard at work, preparing the space for her new bakery and cafe, Moms Bread Co.

After all their preparations, Erickson said they had a soft opening of sorts on Saturday to test their products in real time, and she plans to open officially for customers Feb. 19.

The business, at 118 S. Broadway, will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and will feature not only bakery items but breakfast and lunch options as well.

Sourdough bread will be the mainstay, along with muffins, cookies and bagels. There will be breakfast and lunch sandwiches, along with a few soup and salad options for lunch. The cinnamon rolls that have been served at 112 on Broadway, which are made from her recipe, will also be sold at the business, along with an air-roasted coffee from a Twin Cities-based family.

Everything will be made from scratch, so Erickson said if people have larger amounts of baked goods they want to order they should make sure to provide ample notice.

Once a month there will also be reservation-only upscale casual dinners, featuring a smaller fine-tuned menu selection, such as filets, fish and pasta. This month’s dates will be Feb. 21 and 22.

The space has been painted and brightened up since it housed Crescendo, with new lighting strung across the top that makes it feel more like a cafe. It includes a few antique pieces and some decor through The Key & Co., which will also have some items for sale at the bakery.

“We tried to give it a little facelift from what Crescendo was — a more romantic setting — to something a little brighter and still have a charm to it,” she said.

Since the business will only be open part of the week and for shorter days, she said they are also allowing people to rent the space for different events, with availability for bar service through 112 on Broadway.

Erickson, who also works as an emergency room nurse two days a week, said the venture would not have been possible without her husband, who used his experience in the restaurant industry to help her get things set up.

“It feels good to be here,” she said, noting she is proud to be part of the downtown.

The building is owned by Terry Hall of Austin, who she said ultimately also plans to remodel the upstairs into apartments.

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