No paczki at Sutherland's Bakery in Bay City this Fat Tuesday, but plans are ...

Geraldine Rezler at her home in Bay City on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 17.Rob Clark | The Bay City Times

BAY CITY, MI -- For the first time in 67 years, Geraldine Rezler stayed home and relaxed on Fat Tuesday.

Her family's business, Sutherland's Bakery, closed on Christmas Eve after decades of operating at its West Side Bay City location in the Midland Street Historic District, but it's not going away.

About a month after it closed, business partners Troy McCormick and Beth Dore purchased the bakery with hopes of bringing vitality to the business district.

There's not a hard open date at this point, but McCormick hopes to reopen the 102-year-old bakery as soon as possible. And based on the crowds he saw at area bakeries today, he said his business will be ready.

"We're doing what it takes to keep Bay County's oldest bakery ticking," McCormick said. "We're cleaning the old girl up right now and getting her ready for another 100 years. It's all about keeping these historic businesses going."

This marks the first time in the bakery's 102-year-old history that it's closed for an extended period of time.

Phillip and Josephine Wachowski purchase Sutherland's Bakery in Bay City in 1946.Courtesy Photo

Rezler's parents Phillip and Josephine Wachowski bought the Bay City bakery in 1946 after running a similar-sized operation in Detroit for many years. Rezlerworked as the cake decorator and "the fixer-upper."

"I handled the books and any problems that came up," she said.

Geraldine Rezler, now 85, married Edwin Rezler in 1948. She was 18 years old at the time, she said and her husband gave up a job at the Chevrolet plantto be a baker.

"We did that a long time," Rezler said. "We took it over lock, stock and barrel by the mid- to late-1960s."

Geraldine and Edwin Rezler, circa 1998.Courtesy Photo

The couple had two children, Michael and Karin. Edwin Rezler died in 2003.

Michael would go on to own and operate the bakery until the time of its closing, Rezler said.

"It has been bittersweet. That place is my whole life and I'm so glad it's getting a new start," she said."You know, there are a lot of empty places in town. This fella, Troy McCormick and Beth Dore, who I call compadre, theyare working so hard and they are showcasing my mom and dad."

Indeed, thebakery is expected to keep a few remnants of its past, including an original wedding photo of Rezler's parents from 1923 and a pair of boots that Phillip Wachowski wore while serving in World War I.

Michael Rezler coats a tray of paczki with powdered sugar at Sutherland's Bakery in this 2006 photo.MLive File Photo

"The fact that they're showcasing my mom and dad makes me feel really good," Rezlersaid.

McCormick and Dore's plans on Midland Street go beyond the bakery. Dore hopes to refurbish the upper floors of Duso's Bar for apartments.

"I have full confidence in the resurgence of the historic Midland Street," Dore said.

Rezler said she's anxious to see how the place turns out following renovations, but the new owners aren't giving her any sneak peeks.

"He won't let me see it until he's all completely done," Rezler said.

As for her Fat Tuesday, Rezler said she not only didn't make any paczki, she didn't eat one either.

"You know what? I didn't."

Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2015/02/no_paczki_at_sutherlands_baker.html