Morning Sun Bakery now offering breakfast, hoping to become hub for North Hill

Morning Sun Bakery may be known on Yelp for its cinnamon rolls and strawberry-rhubarb pies, but the owners want people to know that they make more than pastries and buttery baked goods.

“Our challenge, right now, is that we’ve been a coffee shop for a long time,” said Chad Taylor, who owns the bakery with his wife, Lisa. “Finally, we put in a hood and grill so we could serve food.”

Chad Taylor, who graduated from the Western Culinary Institute in Portland in the early ’90s, has always had a passion for baking.

“It’s just part of what I do,” he said.

The Taylors had wanted to open a bakery in Spokane for years, finally launching their business in 2011. Starting small, they began baking goods for the short-lived Spokane Public Market before moving into their current location at 5602 N. Wall St.

The couple have adopted a “pay as you go” approach to growing their business, Chad Taylor said. They have no debt, and saved to pay for the breakfast grill.

The business has grown steadily over the past six years. Morning Sun has several wholesale accounts, including making quiches for Thomas Hammer Coffee, Wake Up Call and a few smaller businesses.

After months of saving, they were able to buy a grill and start making breakfast a few weeks ago.

“There are people who already have their favorites,” Lisa Taylor said.

The bakery has lots of regulars, she said, and with the Taylors living just six blocks from the bakery, they’re looking for Morning Sun to become a hub for the largely residential North Hill neighborhood.

“I think everyone is trying to find ways to make their neighborhood more livable and walkable and neighborhood-like,” Chad Taylor said.