From One Table to a Full House: How Jane Smith Built Main Street Bakery

The first Saturday she set up at the Aurora Farmers Market, Jane Smith sold out of everything by 9 a.m. She had planned for a slow morning. She packed up the folding table and drove home already thinking about next week's batch.

That was 2018. Eight years and two locations later, Main Street Bakery has become something Jane never quite planned for: a gathering place. On any given morning, you'll find retired neighbors catching up over sourdough, remote workers claiming their usual corner table, and a line that wraps toward the door on weekends.

"I never set out to build a community space," she says. "I just wanted to bake good bread and see if people would show up. Turns out they really wanted somewhere to be."

"I never set out to build a community space. I just wanted to bake good bread and see if people would show up."

— Jane Smith, Owner, Main Street Bakery

The Aurora Chamber has been part of that growth since 2021, when a fellow member connected Jane with a commercial real estate contact who helped her secure the Colfax Avenue location. That network, she says, is what she recommends first to any business owner thinking about making Aurora their home base.

She's currently working on a wholesale partnership with two Aurora-area restaurants and exploring a second counter at the upcoming Fitzsimons development. Whatever comes next, she's clear about one thing: she's not going anywhere. Aurora, she says, gave her a shot before she had a track record. She intends to return the favor.