The Laughing Place Bakery will close its doors after serving Christmas customers on December 24.
The Laughing Place just off of North Oak Trafficway in Gladstone caters to the gluten-free community and serves breakfast pastries, cookies, bread, sweat treats and breakfast options. The cafe and bakery originally opened in late October 2015 and will close its doors on December 24. The owner and main baker, Alicia Hommon, opened The Laughing Place Bakery as a way to express her love for baking and the cherished memories she’s made with her family.
“This business has been a dream come true for me. It’s been about getting the opportunity to serve our community,” says Hommon. “Gladstone as a city and as a community has become a part of my family and very much part of my heart. I think the hardest part for me is losing that connection with the community, especially after they’ve supported us so much.”
Hammon says that Covid continues to slow business for The Laughing Place and points to other factors including new minimum wage requirements that snowballed into an increased cost of business and supply. “It feels like feels a little bit like we’re letting them down,” says Hommon. “But we did the best we could.”
Hommon plans to keep her customers in the loop by offering an email list and says she might work on a cookbook. However, she doesn’t see another business in her future anytime soon. “I think I need to let my heart heal from the sadness of closing something that we poured everything into,” says Hommon. “Obviously, when your love language is getting feed people, I don’t think that that’ll ever stop ultimately. I think I need some time to mourn the loss of this one, before I can really consider that for the future.”
Keep a lookout for Hommon’s cookbook and you can sign up for the email list. Make sure to get to The Laughing Place Bakery before it’s too late.
The Laughing Place closes December 24 at noon.
