Belles Bread closing Richland shop but fans can order toasted coconut banana bread online

A Richland bakery that sells 30 flavors of banana bread will close Wednesday. But fans will still be able to get their fix on Facebook.

Belles Bread owner Cristi Dennis launched her unusual business a decade ago and opened a bakery cafe at 1307 Jadwin Ave. last spring.

Business was strong to start, thanks in part to a profile on KNDU. But Dennis said a series of setbacks forced her to retrench.

She had to close briefly when her father died in Utah.

And shortly after the KNDU profile aired, she landed in the hospital for several days. She continues to have trouble with her leg and has fallen both at home and work.

She struggled to maintain regular business hours after her doctor ordered her to limit her work hours to four a day.

Dennis said she could have kept the business going but the out-of-the-way location wasn’t bringing in enough business.

Dennis created Belles during her career working on insurance claims at Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

Colleagues loved her banana bread. The young son of one co-worker loved it so much he would pinch it from the family freezer and defrost it under his bed.

Dennis asked the 9-year-old what she could do to stop the pilfering. He asked for butterscotch-flavored banana bread.

“Noah’s Butterscotch Surprise” became the inspiration for a list of flavors that makes Belles sound more like a doughnut shop than a bread one: Toasted coconut, maple bacon, chocolate chip, strawberry and peanut butter chip, to name a few.

She sent the list home with colleagues, hoping for feedback. Orders flooded in and she began as a home-based business..

“I’m the Baskin Robbins of banana bread,” she said.

Last spring, the single mother of two decided it was time to make the leap to full-time entrepreneur.

She left her job and plowed her retirement savings into Belles, which sells espresso along with banana bread.

She may be broke and looking for a new job, but Dennis is happy with her decision to go all-in on her dream.

“I don’t regret it,” she said.

Halloween will be her final day. Dennis will be the one sporting butterfly wings.

“I want to go out with a bang,” she said.

The shop will be open from 8 a.m. to noon daily until Oct. 31.

Fans can order banana bread through the Facebook page, @bellesgourmetbread.