DENVER — When Ana Fanakra started selling Norwegian baked goods in 2020, she began at local farmer's markets, eventually working her way to opening Ana's Norwegian Bakeri in Centennial in 2021.
"I always missed the kind of baked goods that I grew up with and I decided there had to be other people around me who felt the same," Fanakra said.
She sold Norwegian school rolls and cardamon rolls, but her favorite to make was apple cakes. The recipe came from her grandmother whose legacy she felt she could share with others through food.
"For me, the most important part was building community," Fanakra said.
Unfortunately, food made with love wasn't enough to support the business. Shortly after opening the bakery, she noticed sales weren't keeping up. She said the lack of business likely came from outside, financial issues.
"I feel like it’s relatable for a lot of business owners when the economy isn’t as strong as we want it to be, the first thing we cut out when it comes to paying our bills is food from outside, especially when it comes to desserts," Fanakra said
The baker looked to downtown to help solve her problems. She found Pop Up Denver, a Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) program designed to allow small businesses to have their storefront in the city.
The partnership selected her business and she worked to move into her new space at 918 16th Street.
"Being part of the Pop Up Denver program was very exciting for us," Fanakra shared. "We applied to be a part of that because we needed the foot traffic because we needed that to make it."
It took her eight months to get the permit to operate downtown. It was a delay she didn't account for, or have the money to support.
"Our expectation was to open by mid-summer, then late summer then September then after the end of September, I was really concerned because I knew we were struggling," Fanakra said.
The permit issues, outside inflation, affecting customers and slow foot traffic forced Fanakra to make a tough decision.
"Our last day for both locations was February 3rd," Fanakra said.
DDP said foot traffic is making a rebound post-pandemic, but the rate of return might not be sustainable for all the businesses fighting to bring in customers.
"With businesses coming into this new environment, it’s important to know in your business models that foot traffic downtown has shifted," DDP president Kourtny Garratt shared. "We’re growing in our return to office, Monday through Friday traffic, which so many businesses have relied on in the past. We’re seeing that come back but not at the levels Denver is used to. We’re at about 65-75% of what we call the return to office."
Garratt said Fanakra is not alone in her issues with getting a permit promptly.
"We know that it’s been challenging," Garratt said. "It’s no secret in Denver that the permitting process from a timing perspective and general bureaucracy has been a challenge."
Despite declaring bankruptcy on her business, Fanakra said she doesn't regret any of the choices she made. She said the evidence is in the support of her customers since she announced she was closing her doors.
"The most important thing to me was the community we built and the fact that it’s continuing is incredibly rewarding to me," Fanakra said.
She said she may continue to do individual, personal orders of her pastries, but she hopes her immediate future will be a job with human resources. She said she hopes to continue to uplift and make people feel at their best like her bakery did for others.
"We did a small part of making that happen in our community and that is something I will treasure always," Fanakra said.
Other downtown restaurants like Three Saints Revival and Avelina also announced closures in February.
Avelina's owner posted on Yelp that they lost thousands of dollars trying to stay open during COVID.
The owner noted a lack of foot traffic and higher minimum wages as being factors in its closure.