Emeche Cakery Closes After 4 Years On Bronzeville’s Prairie Avenue

BRONZEVILLE — Emeche Cakery is saying goodbye.

Owner Janell Richmond announced via Instagram Tuesday that the cafe, 3453 S. Prairie Ave., would close immediately after four years in Bronzeville. The cafe will remain open for catering until Dec. 22.

“We want to thank the Bronzeville Community for 4 wonderful years,” Richmond wrote.
“We were so happy to bring something positive to the neighborhood and to be able to create jobs. However, due to rising food costs and declining business, we have decided that it’s time to say goodbye. We will miss our community of friends and neighbors. We thank you for embracing us and for all your support.”

The vegan-friendly eatery was known for its specialty sweets, from apple pie cheesecake and hummingbird cakes to sticky buns and Juneteenth freedom cakes. Emeche made Eater’s Where To Eat In Bronzeville list in 2021 and was recently featured in the Tribune’s Thanksgiving Pie Guide.

Richmond opened the cafe just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic. She shared how her struggles to stay afloat led her to launch a crowdsourcing campaign in an April 2020 Block Club interview.

With few box stores in the area, small businesses tend to thrive, Richmond said. That was her expectation when opening, but the reality provided different. The pandemic didn’t help.

In the end, it was low sales, rising food costs and labor shortages that forced the entrepreneur to close up shop, Richmond said.

“It’s been pretty hard, actually,” Richmond said. “I would say that I’ve noticed a decline in business probably since the early part of the year. To be honest, the only thing that’s been keeping us open thus far was catering.”

When the pandemic hit, the small business owner found herself hustling to keep the lights on, applying for federal and city assistance. That helped, but she wishes there had been more widespread support and resources for Black entrepreneurs in the city, she said.

“I talked with some of my fellow entrepreneurs and they were like, ‘Man, I wish we had like some sort of coalition or something for Black entrepreneurs to prevent us from getting to this point,’” Richmond said.

For Richmond, being able to open Emeche in a community with such a rich and vibrant history meant a great deal. Providing residents with jobs and watching the children of loyal patrons grow from toddlers to big kids is what she will cherish most.

November saw a number of impending restaurant closures across the city, from Mag Mile mainstay Grand Lux Cafe to Metropolitan Brewing in Avondale.

Slow foot traffic hit Emeche hard recently, Richmond said. If she had to do it all over again, she’d make a few changes, like sticking to a more manageable menu.

“I just wanted to make desserts and coffee,” she said. “Other food was kind of like an afterthought. Realizing we’re in a bit of a food desert and there aren’t a lot of options, it just kind of grew into this big thing. [Customers] were like, ‘Oh, what about breakfast sandwiches?’ So we started offering that and next thing you know, we’re like a full-service restaurant.”

After years of pouring herself into Emeche, Richmond said she will take time to herself. She also hasn’t ruled out giving the business another go.

“Now, I’m just going to do what I want to do. And yes, that does include travel,” said Richmond.

---

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: