One area bakery has expanded to become much more than cookies and donuts within the Carbondale community.

Cristaudo’s opened originally in 1977 in the Murdale Shopping Center and after a five-year closure reopened in 2011 with four previous employees as co-owners: Rachel Cristaudo, Jennifer Rollinson, Leah Maciell and Nicholas Stewart. The bakery will now be connected to a restaurant, designed to support local farmers and growers, as well as a gift shop to showcase local art and talent. The owners want to create a place people can come, shop, eat and drink while helping out the community, Rollinson said.

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“We are trying to keep everything we sell from the Illinois area and as much local as we can,” Rollinson said. “We are trying to bring more locally made items into the shop.”

The four co-owners reopened the bakery with a specific vision in mind. They said they wanted a place that would support the community and local businesses. The store is now located on 51 N. near Yesteryear, five miles from the previous location. The gift shop, known as 6Pence, features unique, hand-crafted, new and vintage gifts, Cristaudo said.

The gift shop is located next to The Day Shift, which also sells locally made items such as gifts purses, leather and more. Rollinson said they want to work in harmony with The Day Shift and support the business by having a complimentary gift shop which attracts people’s attention to locally made items.

The gift shop isn’t the only new addition to the bakery; Cristaudo’s opened a new seating area in August designed to become a full service restaurant featuring locally grown items. Stewart hopes to have the restaurant open by the end of the year but is waiting on a few minor details to be finished.

“We’re making some final touches on the wait station and the beverage station,” Stewart said. “We are making repairs to the espresso machine so we will be ready to serve espresso drinks as well.”

Cristaudo’s makes bread every Friday but once the restaurant opens it will have fresh breads every business day. Some of the other services they offer include catering, cakes and cookies for various events.