In November/December 2020, I was left with choice to either sell everything I had worked for and built for over a year, or push ahead and create something new.  The decision to keep moving forward was a quick one, but coming up with a name and concept for the recently finished bakery proved to be a little more of a challenge.  After a couple days of conversation with my wife, Katie, and many potential bakery names that will remain hidden away on my laptop somewhere, we landed on SugarBuzz Vegan Bakery. Truth be told, Katie was the first to come up with it after many failed combinations of words and phrases that revolved around Bees. 

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The idea behind the name came from one very important thing, Family.  Particularly, Katie's father, Steve Burt.  Steve passed away in September 2016 after a brave battle with cancer.  The mark he left on this world is felt by many, myself included. 

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Throughout his work life, Steve was employed by the United States Postal Service as a letter carrier in both Detroit and Grosse Pointe, a career which spanned over 42 years. In addition to his letter carrying duties, Steve served as the Union Steward and Union Official for the N.A.L.C. He was very proud of his service with the Postal Service, as well as his many years of assisting fellow employees.

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Steve was an avid photographer and spent many years photographing nature, animals, architecture, and what he was most proud of, his family. He had a passion for his family, and for helping others.  Not only was that evident in his Union Official job at the Post Office, he also was a beekeeper who produced and sold his honey, along with volunteering his time at the Belle Isle Zoo attending to the bees.  To this day, you can go into the Belle Isle Nature Center and see a plaque bearing his name that reads "Buzzing with gratitude for Steve Burt, our Bee Man, and his 10 years of dedicated volunteerism and beekeeping."  

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The importance of bees to our world was very important to Steve.  He passed his knowledge onto all that would listen, especially many young future beekeepers who learned from him at Bell Isle.

 

In honor of my dear late father-in-law, SugarBuzz will be donating the the proceeds from our Bee Sugar Cookies during July and August to the Belle Isle Nature Center.  We will update throughout the Summer on our social media pages.  Anyone who is interested in ordering multiple cookies should call 248-268-1355 for orders of 12 cookies or more.  Please give us a 48-72 hour notice.  

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Thank you for your continued support, 

Chris Pelak

SugarBuzz Bakery Owner

chris@sugarbuzzveganbakery.com

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