![Bloom Bakery, owned by nonprofit organization Towards Employment, closed in November 2019. [Gayle Putrich / Ideastream Public Media]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/743bb78/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2021%2F11%2FBloomClosed.jpg)
A new bakery has begun operating out of the former Bloom Bakery location off Euclid Avenue across from the Cleveland State University campus.
General Manager Mark Wilson says that Oanest Bakery has the same purpose as Bloom.
"We have really made it our mission front and center to give people kind of a second chance in life to realize that folks don't need to be defined necessarily by their past actions," Wilson said.
The name Oanest is a combination of the words oat and honest, which Wilson says is named after its signature granola bar.
Bloom closed two years ago in November 2019 after the nonprofit Towards Employment decided it could accomplish its career pathway mission without running the two Downtown storefronts near CSU and Public Square.
Bloom Bakery opened in 2016, offering paid internships, training and jobs to people who had trouble finding them, including those who have been incarcerated or on public assistance.
While Oanest Bakery opened to the public Monday, a formal grand opening is set for the end of November.
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