Rich Shafer, and his wife, Amy, had always dreamed of having their own classic mom-and-pop-style bakery. This year, that dream became a reality when they opened Baker on the Square, a premium Milan bakery located in the heart of the town, the historic square.
Rich does the majority of the baking for the company while Amy handles the financial side. Amy, whom Rich calls his CFO, also works full time for Huron City Schools. Rich, a Milan native, has been baking since childhood. He cherishes a memory of baking a Sock It To Me Cake with his grandmother.
You might be surprised to hear, though, that Rich did not immediately make baking his full-time career once he reached adulthood. He had spent a year as an assistant draftsman for the Salvation Army in New York, 19 years in the automotive industry, and most recently was in HR management. He soon realized that was not his passion and decided to pursue his dream.
Rich joked, “When you get frustrated, you open a bakery!”