Cinnamon rolls, other desserts worth waking up for

Rich Palzewic

Staff

January 12, 2026

SUAMICO – Fern & Flour Bakery has joined downtown Suamico’s business scene, bringing traditional and contemporary desserts to Vickery Village. 

Located at 1755 Riverside Drive, the bakery occupies the building’s lower level, with The Zen Den Yoga & Wellness Studio upstairs.

Owner Stephi Fulton – who celebrated the bakery’s grand opening last month – said she looks forward to sharing her homemade creations with the community.

“I think it’s more about getting my name out there,” she said. “Business has been back and forth a bit so far. During the holidays and into the new year, I don’t think it’s uncommon for bakeries to see fluctuations in their business.”

Fulton, a Manitowoc native who still lives there with her husband, said the bakery’s business is difficult to gauge during the busy holiday season and early new year, with clearer patterns likely emerging by February.

“For any bakery, January into February is a slow time,” she said. “I’ll have a better idea of how things go once we get into the spring, summer and fall seasons in Vickery Village. It gets pretty crazy around here. I’m currently not open as much as I will be once things get rolling.”

Despite Vickery Village’s growth over the years, Fulton said some customers have admitted they didn’t even know the area existed.

“Because the space used to be a specialty bakery before (Sugar Rush by Amanda), the front and back kitchens had already been built out,” she said. “I will eventually be using the back kitchen as my gluten-free kitchen – once I get all the needed equipment. Besides some painting and decorating, the building was move-in ready.”

From home baker to brick-and-mortar

Fulton said her interest in decorating began in high school while working at the local Dairy Queen.

After attending the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Fulton said she pursued a career dedicated to her creative interests.

“In Milwaukee, I worked at a bakery as a decorator before eventually moving up to their head decorator,” she said. “There, I worked on big, extravagant wedding cakes, cupcakes, etc. Because everything was hand-piped, I got really good at freehanding logos, characters, etc.”

Hand-piping, Fulton said, is a decorating technique that allows bakers to use a piping bag and tip to design elaborate patterns and shapes on desserts.

“I also worked at a few bakeries in Manitowoc before starting my own bakery out of my own house under Wisconsin Cottage Food Laws,” she said. “At the time, I was still working full-time, but I turned my entire spare bedroom into my bakery.”

That juggling act, Fulton said, made for long days.

“I’d get home from work and head straight to the bedroom for my bakery work – I was only doing pre-order specialty orders at the time,” she said.

Fulton said her home-based bakery initially operated under the name “Sweetly Made Bakery.”

“I just did a simple Google search for a name,” she laughed. “March of 2023 was when I put a name to what I was doing, but I wasn’t taking it too seriously at that point. I was mostly baking for friends and family and doing a few markets.”

Word of mouth, Fulton said, eventually brought orders from complete strangers, prompting her to explore a permanent bakery space.

“That’s when I really decided I needed something more,” she said.

While taking classes through Progress Lakeshore, Fulton said she began casually searching for a brick-and-mortar location, mainly in Manitowoc.

She said she credits her sister for helping her find the space in Vickery Village, which is owned by the Dr. Jon Henry family.

“My sister helps manage the Suamico Creamery and is friends with the Henry family – she let me know this space was available,” she said. “I was hesitant at first because of the daily drive [from Manitowoc] and the fact I wouldn’t be in the Manitowoc community.”

Despite the 90-ish minute round-trip drive, Fulton said she visited the property during a Tunes on Tuesday event last fall.

“It was crazy busy and tons of people were around,” she said. “Seeing the community come together in Vickery Village got me really excited. Once I toured the space, I immediately fell in love with it, and it fit my vibe. It had that old, vintage cottage feeling – kind of like you’re in somebody’s home.”

Fulton said the atmosphere felt unlike anything she had experienced in the many bakeries she had worked in over the years.

“I didn’t want a spot in a strip mall or something in a new building – I wanted it cozy,” she said. “So often, when you enter a bakery, it’s got all of these bright pink and blue colors, and there are sprinkles all over – I didn’t want that.”

Fulton said she handled the painting and decorating herself, transforming the space into a ready-to-open bakery.

She said she chose the name “Fern & Flour Bakery” to match the warm, homey aesthetic of the interior.

Fulton said she has grown accustomed to the 90-minute round-trip commute.

“I have driven longer distances for other jobs I’ve done and didn’t like it, but now that I’m driving further and it’s for my business, I don’t mind it,” she said. “It’s kind of funny how it doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

Fulton said her daily lineup of baked goods features breakfast pastries, cinnamon rolls, cookies, brownies, muffins and bars, with cinnamon rolls proving to be the most popular item.

“They are very soft and fluffy, and I’ve had tons of people say they are the best cinnamon rolls they’ve ever had,” she said. “I also still offer my custom orders – birthday cakes, wedding cakes, decorated cookies, etc. Eventually, I want to get into breads, but that will come with more staff. I also want to expand my gluten-free options.”

In addition to her daily baked goods and custom orders, Fulton said she also offers decorating classes.

“I teach different techniques – it’s all beginner-friendly,” she said. “Maybe in the future, I’ll do more advanced classes for people who want more. I offer cookie and cupcake decorating classes and a vintage cake decorating class. With the cookie decorating class, I supply all the cookies, the utensils, the packaging, etc. You get to decorate the cookies – which I walk you through – and then you take them home.”

Collaboration is key

With Station 1 Brewing Company, Company Coffee, Zen Den Yoga, Suamico Bike Company, Suamico Creamery and more, Fulton said she’s excited to work with other Vickery Village businesses.

“I collaborate with Stacy [Ryan] from Zen Den because we occupy the same building,” she said. “Some of her instructors have also reached out to me wanting to do some things for the future, and eventually, I’ll be talking with Company Coffee. I don’t offer the type of coffee they do – we are not competing with one another. I simply have a Keurig in-house for people to use while inside Fern & Flour. You can go to Company Coffee for some good quality coffee and then come over here to get a sweet treat.” 

Fulton said she plans to “make the rounds” to meet with other local businesses as part of her ongoing efforts to engage with the community.

“Vickery Village has meetings every couple of months where businesses get together and discuss plans,” she said. “That will be a good way for me to get to know other owners and work on some possible collaborations.”

Though her bakery is the only one of its kind in Vickery Village, Fulton said she views other local bakeries as colleagues rather than competition.

“If I can’t offer something a customer wants, I’ll send them to another bakery that might have a different specialty than I do,” she said. “Obviously, in Green Bay, there are other bakery options but nothing too close to Vickery Village.”

Fern & Flour Bakery is currently open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Though as she mentioned previously, Fulton said her hours of operation may change after she gauges demand over the next few months.

For more on the bakery, head to fernandflourbakery.com or its Facebook page.