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Business & Tech

Sweet! Bakery & Café Wins Golden Storefront Award

The Sweet Comfort Bakery & Café offers an inviting patio along with tarts and scones.

Luscious tarts, cupcakes and mouthwatering baked goods aren't the only eye-candy at the Sweet Comfort Bakery & Café in Port Washington. The shady, attractive sidewalk patio is as welcoming on a hot day as the icy lemonade for sale. Settle in at one of the elegant wrought-iron bistro sets under a capacious market umbrella. It feels as inviting as it looks.

While the good eats keep the outdoor tables filled, it's the good looks that won the café the June Golden Storefront Award, a joint effort of community groups Residents for a More Beautiful Washington (RFMBPW) and the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District (BID).

"We hope that Sweet Comfort Bakery & Café will keep up the excellent work, and that the bestowal of this award will encourage residents to patronize this store and for other businesses to strive for the same level of commitment," said Mindy Germain, executive director of Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington. 

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The sidewalk seating area is rimmed with white planters bursting with boxwoods and watercolor yellow and purple pansies. Treillage garden furniture and biscuit colored umbrellas and trim complement the soft brick façade. The vibe is Old South meets French bistro, right on Irma Avenue.

"Sweet Comfort is a pioneer in turning a side street into a destination," Germain said. "As we move forward with our county pilot, side streets, back entrances and parking lots will be seamlessly coordinated into the fabric of Main Street. We aim to create a more holistic experience and an expanded opportunity for 'complete streets' with bistro tables, plantings, bicycle racks and more."

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The Sweet Comfort Bakery & Café provides employment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The café is owned by a subsidiary of Community Mainstreaming Associates (CMA), a non-profit providing residential, vocational and case management services.

The café is primarily staffed with residents of CMA group homes. "Everybody has a responsibility," said Karen Puritano, development director for CMA.

Ed Gershon, a Sweet Comfort employee, added, "We sweep, clean, take care of the flower boxes and recycle."

Winners of the Golden Storefront Award must maintain a debris-free storefront and sidewalk area, weed and water sidewalk tree beds, regularly sweep sidewalks, adhere to trash collection schedules and maintain clear sightlines into store windows.

"The Golden Storefront Award was established to thank and congratulate local business owners for providing a place that the Port Washington community wants to shop and or dine," said Roy Smitheimer, executive director of the BID. "The more stores that we have participate in the program, the more our local residents will want to try Port first."

The "Golden Storefront" is awarded monthly. Votes for merchants can be cast Residents' web site. Previous winners include Finn Mac Cools, Sullivan's Quay, White Plus One, SVH Interiors, Louie's Oyster Bar & Grille, H on the Harbor, Painting with Flowers and Baltimore Design Center.

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