Local flavor and culture take another bitter loss with the news that Crema Bakery and Cafe will close its doors permanently on September 17. Owned and operated by Jessica Forkner Tomberlin and her wife Janessa, Crema has been feeding people deliciously since 2013.

Crema quietly served as a casual restaurant with a serious coffee program and excellent pastries until owner Tomberlin started to help feed not just her customers, but anyone who needed a meal. Like every business during the March 2020 pandemic, Crema was hit with restrictions, but instead focused on offering sack lunches to kids who used to eat a mid-day meal in school. Tomberlin told the Chronicle in April 2020, “We were concerned kids weren’t going to have anything to eat since schools were out and grocery stores were starting to be overrun, so we decided to post that we would offer a free sack lunch to anyone who wanted one – no questions asked,” says Tomberlin. They announced their plans and she said, “Within a day it had gone viral (for us) – thousands of likes and shares on [social media]. In the first week, we served almost 200 free lunches.”

During Austin’s brutal snowpocalypse of 2021, Crema lost power for three days, along with their entire inventory. Tomberlin chose to spend $5,000 to buy food and gave it away to more than 400 Austinites who had lost power and couldn’t feed themselves. Her generosity was covered by CNN.

Struggling through inflation and staffing issues while swatting away the ever-growing online trolls, the bakery persisted though 2022, their last year, by holding tons of fundraisers for abortion access and Beto O’Rouke via their cookie case. Customers could check in with an in-house voter registrar many days. And Crema hosted events ranging from popups selling succulents in locally-made planters, to parties supporting queer folks, all featuring treats in every flavor imaginable. And yet, it wasn’t enough.

On Sept. 5, Tomberlin posted to social media:

“We tried, y’all. So hard. But the pandemic, skyrocketing costs for supplies and staffing issues just haven’t let up. The final nail in our coffin was our landlord requiring a minimum five-year lease. We can’t even pay rent right now.”

“I’ve taken on astronomical debt trying to keep us alive ‘until things get better.’ But they aren’t getting better. So it’s time for us to go the way of so many local treasures.”

Tomberlin continued with, “I’m gutted.”

Everyone should be. Crema’s closing is a huge loss to the community-at-large, and Tomberlin has promised a “fill the freezer” style menu allowing customers to safely hold on to some baked goods and dole them out over the coming days. Maybe save a pie for the upcoming holidays, maybe eat the whole thing over the sink while crying.

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Crema Bakery & Cafe, Jessica Forkner Tomberlin

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