CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A bakery in Charlotte is closing down amid financial struggles from COVID-19. But, the owner said it’s not because she doesn't have enough people coming to the store. It’s a ripple effect of something else.


What You Need To Know

  • Nova's Bakery has been in operation for 26 years

  • It's located on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood

  • The bakery will officially close on Dec. 13

The co-owner of Nova’s Bakery, Sladjana Novakovic, says she moved from Serbia to America with her husband in the 1990s. She wanted to make a better life for her family. Baking was something she knew well, so she decided to open a bakery.

“I had three children,” she says. “Then, I had the bakery.”

In other words, she views the bakery as one of her kids. But just like children, it gets to a point where you have to let them go. Novakovic says while her bread store has been busy, many of the places where her bread was sold have closed down during COVID-19.

“We supply a lot of restaurants, fine dining, hotels, and small coffee shops,” Novakovic says.

Michelle Rojas says she usually comes to the bakery once a month.

“This is just a little hole in the wall in Charlotte,” Rojas says. “They have some of the best chia I have ever had.”

Their menu is filled with chia and other handcrafted drinks. However, Rojas says that’s not all that makes it special.

“It’s really sad seeing a place that has its own taste, its own flavor, its own style, losing to everything that is going on,” Rojas says.

Novakovic says she still plans to bake bread even after her store closes, it just won’t be for the public anymore.

“You have to learn how to dream and then you have to work hard for your dream, and then you get to enjoy your dream,” she says.

For Novakovic, she's enjoyed her dream, but now it's time to say goodbye.

The bakery will officially close on Dec. 13.