But with years of experience in the food industry, it seemed like a good fit. Michaela May’s Bakery has been operating since May 25 in the former Chainey House at 302 Central Ave. in Florence, Wis.

She confessed that she used to hate baking, but a chef she worked for at the Chippewa Club in Iron Mountain from 2016 to 2020 got her into it.

She makes 15 to 20 different things a day, changing it daily, using recipes she developed from scratch. There is also coffee available to go with the sweet treats.

“I take requests, too,” she said.

MICHAELA RICE UNWRAPS chocolate chip cookie dough she made the day before at her bakery, Michaela May’s, in Florence, Wis. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily New photo)

“My mom (Pam Rice) and grandma (Carol Bjorkman) are great at baking bread. I’m practicing, but I’m getting close,” she said as she took some of the day’s featured breads out of pans and placed them in the display case.

“I like making cookies because anything can be a cookie,” she added.

She admitted doesn’t like making frosted cookies, though. “They’re too putsy. I like to work fast and it’s hard for me to slow down.”

As she said this, she quickly cut chocolate chip cookie dough she made the day before and put the filled cookie sheets into the oven, located in the small work area behind the counter.

Cream puffs and cinnamon rolls are two of her favorite things to prepare and she also enjoys making pies.

MICHAELA RICE SHOWS off some of her paintings that adorn the walls of her bakery shop, Michaela May’s in Florence, Wis. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily New photo)

Pasties — her least-favorite of what she offers — are also her best seller. “My mom taught me,” Rice said. She taught me how to make the good crust that I have.”

Due to demand, Rice ends up making them more than she’d prefer.

“I didn’t think they’d be so popular. I thought I’d only have to make them once a week.” she said.

In the fall, she plans to add soups to go with the bread. Soups are another favorite of hers.

The bakery also has a fudge machine, so Rice would like to add fudge to the menu at some point and eventually a flower shop.

When Rice isn’t making food, you can find her working in paints. She is an artist as well, with many of her paintings adorning the walls of the bakery.

The restored building where the bakery is located was built in the 1880s and originally was the home of Emmanuel and Christine Chainey.

The bakery is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.