Slow To Rise Bakery Moving Into Former Fast Forward Coffee Shop On Cherry Street

Slow To Rise Bakery, which has bounced around to several different locations on the island since it opened in 2022, will soon reopen for the season in a new home.

The bakery is moving into 1 Cherry Street, the former location of the Fast Forward coffee shop that shares a parking lot with the Ezia Athletic Club. The official opening date is subject to final approvals and inspections from the Nantucket Health Department, but could come as soon as this weekend.

Tucker Puljic and Katrina Newfrock, both 2020 graduates of Johnson & Wales' culinary program, founded Slow To Rise Bakery on Nantucket three years ago after relocating from Darien, Conn.

The bakery has moved around to various island locations, including Pip & Anchor, the downtown Farmers & Artisans Market, and the former commercial kitchen behind Small Friends - and they've also sold their goods directly online. The bakery's bagels and cookies have put them on the map.

"We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been working on all winter!" the bakery posted on its Instagram page on Wednesday. "Opening (hopefully) this weekend!"

The small structure at 1 Cherry Street was slated to become a new brew pub, but that proposal was scuttled by the Select Board after neighbors raised concerns about the operation.

After Fast Forward closed in 2020, the structure at 1 Cherry Street was briefly used as the “Bubble Bark” dog grooming center. In September 2024, the property was sold for $1.15 million to Ezia Athletic Club owner Isaiah Truyman, who stated at the time that he was contemplating using the lot for a teenager-focused recreational facility. Truyman told the Current late last year that the plan was still in the works, but given the lengthy regulatory and permitting process, he wanted a tenant in the small building while the development proceeds.