Tag: The Rabbit Hole

Business Relocating, Food and Drink

Hungry Heart Comes Home

On January 5th, Hungry Heart Bakery reopened in its original storefront at 414 SE 80th Avenue, consolidating three brands and two restaurants back into one business. For the owner and staff, this will create a sustainable environment while allowing them to continue the work they enjoy. The shop has returned to a breakfast-focused menu in a takeout and counter service format.

Jax Hart started the Hungry Heart cupcakes food cart in 2010 and then opened the Hungry Heart Bakery in Montavilla on January 3rd, 2015. Hart planned to open a new restaurant on SE Stark Street called White Rabbit Cafe and Bakery in the spring of 2020. The pandemic set White Rabbit’s launch date back, with the 7940 SE Stark Street location opening in early 2021 under the Hungry Heart brand. In 2022, Hart reopened the original storefront on SE 80th as a sugar-focused shop called Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets.

The two locations with split identities sometimes caused misunderstandings about the menu options at each space. “It’s been a challenge to create these different brands and give each their own identity. I think it created a lot of confusion over time for people because they would come into Hungry Heart in the morning for cupcakes or they come into Rabbit Hole looking for espresso,” explained Hart. Additionally, the expanded footprint and full-service restaurant generated more work than the profits from both places justified. On December 18th, having considered the best options for staff and customers, Hart closed Hungry Heart’s Stark Street location and retired the White Rabbit/Rabbit Hole branding.

Hart is still developing the new Hungry Heart format, with several classic items missing from the menu. Currently, they only offer their renowned cupcakes by special order, and the Rabbit Hole soft-serve ice cream is unavailable due to space constraints. Brunch and Lunch items once served on SE Stark Street are no longer on the menu, and the shop now closes at 1 p.m., reflecting its breakfast focus. However, starting in March, a retail business will share the SE 80th Avenue storefront after they close, and that group will sell some Hungry Heart baked items. “We can’t announce yet who, but we’re gonna try out having an afternoon roommate in this space, and they will be selling our cupcakes,” said Hart.

Although Hungry Heart is geared towards takeout, they still have 14 seats inside, with an outdoor seating area planned for summer. Hours of operation could also expand in the warmer months with the possible return of soft-serve ice cream. Hart is not trying to take on too much while integrating the brands, instead focusing on the core business. “I feel fortunate and proud of all these different concepts I’ve had a hand in. Not all of them were highly successful or profitable, but the pastries, coffee, and sandwiches continued to be profitable. I think a valuable lesson is that bigger isn’t necessarily always better. It was really cool being in a bigger space, but I missed being in the smaller space, having a smaller crew and a smaller menu, and just having things be a little bit simpler. The bigger space just felt like a hustle,” said Hart.

The downsizing and return to its origins is not a regression for Hungry Heart. Hart sees it as an opportunity to safely experiment without the pressure of a large restaurant’s staff and overhead. People should expect to find new, exciting foods coming from the bakery alongside the classics. “I’m hoping to take some of the pastries in a more Hispanic direction and do a play on a modern Mexican bakery, offering some more things from my background that I grew up eating. I’ve just been so focused on French pastry since we’ve been open. I’m really excited to take things in a different direction and still offer people the things that they’ve come to know over the years,” said Hart. Hungry Heart is open daily from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. except Tuesdays.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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Business Closing, Food and Drink, Business Relocating

Hungry Heart Consolidates

On December 18th, Hungry Heart Bakery served its last meal from the 7940 SE Stark Street location and will return to its former space a block away at 414 SE 80th Avenue. Since April 2022, the Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets shop has operated from the SE 80th location. Jax Hart owns both businesses, and the two locations worked together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day. This weekend, December 30th and 31st, the restaurant’s owner will sell surplus supplies as they consolidate operations into the smaller space.

Inside Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets

Hungry Heart Bakery opened in Montavilla on January 3rd, 2015, after five years of running the successful Hungry Heart cupcakes food cart. From 2017 to 2019, Hungry Heart opened a sister business, Heartbreaker, a block over at 411 SE 81st Avenue. They closed that business with plans to open a new restaurant on SE Stark Street called White Rabbit Cafe and Bakery in the spring of 2020. The pandemic set White Rabbit’s launch back, with the SE Stark location opening in early 2021 under the Hungry Heart name. As restrictions lifted on indoor dining, Hart expanded the menu and embraced the original brunch menu planned for White Rabbit. The restaurant began a transition to the intended name, adopting both logos. However, they never completed that transition, and a change of business operations was needed.

In December, Jax Hart publicly announced that the company would relocate to the original space. “The decision to downsize has not been easy, but gives us the opportunity to slow down and return to our roots,” reads a notice on the Hungry Heart website. Consolidating the two locations requires selling some of the surplus restaurant supplies. The staff invites people to buy items at the weekend sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 30th and 31st inside the closed location at 7940 SE Stark Street. They intend to reopen the consolidated shop at 414 SE 80th Avenue on January 5th, 2024. Watch the Hungry Heart Instagram account for updates.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Bar, Food and Drink, New Business

Rabbit Hole Sweetshop

Last month, Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets quietly opened in Montavilla town at 414 SE 80th Ave. The shop occupies the former Hungry Heart Bakery space, made available after the restaurant relocated to SE Stark Street. Both businesses are the creation of Jax Hart, and the two locations work together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day.

Hart quietly reopened the SE 80th shopfront on April 15th. Although covered in Bridgetown Bites, the opening was unpublicized, allowing staff time to work out the kinks in the shop’s operation and perfect the menu options. The first few weeks primarily focused on mastering the soft-serve ice cream machines that require an expert’s hand to operate. Rabbit Hole is now ready for customers but will continue to add products and features to the shop over the coming months.

Rabbit Hole staff are preparing for an expected busy summer season with more people out in the neighborhood looking for treats. “We’re [open] Thursday through Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and that’ll probably extend as we get into summer and see what time people are looking for the ice cream and sweets.” Said Hart. The two shops have a short overlap in operating hours but essentially split the day. Hungry Heart operates from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., serving the morning and lunchtime crowd. Rabbit Hole’s hours catch the afternoon and evening dessert seekers. That schedule allows Hart to balance their attention between the two establishments. “I kind of just go where I’m needed,” explained Hart.

The second location is more than a way to expand operations. Hart wants the Rabbit Hole to offer a different customer experience than the busy restaurant on Stark Street. Reopening in the original location is a way to reconnect with the roots of the business. “When we started, the intention was to just be a small neighborhood dessert shop and be a little bit more slower paced and low key. So our hope for this space was to have a little bit more time to engage with people,” said Hart. “It’s really been nice to welcome people into this space again.”

Hart moved the customer-pleasing Hungry Heart cupcakes and the macarons to the Rabbit Hole location. Over time, they expect to expand the confectionary options. However, Hart knew that the cold treats needed to be part of the new shop from day one. “We’re also doing soft serve ice cream because we had previously done Heartbreaker [ice cream shop], and people loved having ice cream in the neighborhood.”

Rabbit Hole features two soft serve machines, one of which is a dedicated non-dairy use. “So currently that machine has Oatly vegan vanilla and dole whip, which is a pineapple soft-serve,” explained Hart. As they settle in, Rabbit Hole staff will rotate flavors and begin to offer dipped cones with various toppings and sundaes.

Beyond Rabbit Hole’s display cases, staff have stocked shelves with a collection of packaged food items, books, and plants. Hart is working with suppliers from the area to provide a variety of market items to compliment the sweet shop. Hart explains that many people stopping in are picking up supplies for a celebration. “When people come in for cupcakes, it’s for a party, it’s for a gift, or it’s for a friend who just graduated.” The plants and other gift-able items make the shop a one-stop location for those looking to arrive at a party prepared. Soon the store will stock cards from local letterpress companies to complete the present giving collection that Rabbit Hole provides.

Hart expects to enhance the shop’s offerings beyond its products and menu. The indoor seating area will soon support a flexible teaching space for vendors who want to offer cooking classes. “We’ll be able to do these small, intimate neighborhood cooking classes and kids cooking classes.” Hart also explained the shop would soon gain outdoor seating. “We have an application in for a Healthy Business permit, which would be one of those seating areas that take up a parking spot, so we’re going to wait and see if we can either get a 20 foot or a 40 foot [space].”

Recently, staff have focused on setting the right environment for the shop and opening the doors to customers. After they complete the physical storefront, Hart said they will next work to open the website to the public. “We’ll have the menus on the website, and we’ll have an ordering page. [People can] order cupcakes online, and we’ll have an online store for all of the Market items.”

Christening the new location Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets is part of a larger project that began years ago but put on hold by the pandemic. Jax Hart revealed that the Stark street location would eventually change names in alignment with the original intention for the space. “We’re working on rebranding Hungry Heart to White Rabbit,” said Hart. However, they don’t expect to make that change soon, as the cost is not insignificant. Regardless of the timing, the relationship between the two shops will be unmistakable when they complete the rebranding process.

The public is encouraged to pop in and see what sweets or plants Rabbit Hole offers. Look for new items and events later this year and know that a cool sweet treat is just down the street on the coming warm days of summer.

By

Jacob Loeb

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