VICKSBURG, Mich. (WOOD) — The recently closed MacKenzie’s Bakery in Kalamazoo is getting new life as a new bakery that will open in downtown Vicksburg later this year.   

Mackenzie’s Bakery, which closed at the end of 2020, was purchased by The Mill at Vicksburg owner Chris Moore.

The bakery’s brand, recipes and equipment will be part of Mackenzies Vicksburg, a new company that will make wholesale bread for local retailers and restaurants. The company’s goal is to begin operations by Thanksgiving. It has hired the former owner, who decided to retire and close the bakery in December of 2020, as a consultant to get the business running. 

The new bakery plans to open later in 2021 at 103 E. Prairie St., a 1,700-square-foot location in downtown Vicksburg. Moore already owns it and has restored the facade. The initial plan is for the space to include a kitchen and distribution facility, but the business is preparing to open a small storefront in the future, according to Jackie Koney, chief operating officer of Paper City Development, LLC. 

Koney said the bakery will complement Moore’s investment in the mill. 

“We are expecting to reach and draw hundreds of thousands of people a year into this area and it’s important to Chris to have a thriving downtown as well as a thriving mill, and so the two play off of each other, very much so, and we know that we will be attracting people for events and conferences and meetings,” Koney said.