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Adria Callopy (now Clark) grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended Portland State as an art major.  When Tom and Adria were introduced by a mutual friend in March of 2001, Adria was dancing with Portland troupe Gypsy Caravan, and teaching dance and managing Caravan Studio.  Tom was then the manager of Black Bear Bakery; the Portland Grand Central Baking Company’s experimental certified organic bakery.  Unbeknownst to Adria, at the time of their first date, Tom had already made arrangements to leave Portland and return to the Cleveland area to start his own bakery.  After dating for several weeks, Tom decided to put his plans for relocation on hold.  Black Bear closed, and Tom was given a job managing the day crew at Grand Central.  He and Adria moved in together in September of 2001, and were married in September of 2002.   Four years and two children later, Tom was working an administrative position for the bakeries of Portland natural foods chain, New Seasons Market.  Not feeling fulfilled by the position, he finally convinced Adria to uproot and pursue his original dream of opening a bakery in Ohio, this time together.  In March of 2007, on the anniversary of Tom and Adria’s first date, the Clark family left Orgeon.  Upon arriving in the area, Tom applied for jobs at Orlando Baking Company and On the Rise Artisan Breads and Pastries in Cleveland Heights.  Adam Gidlow and his wife Jennifer, the owners of On the Rise, weren’t looking for a baker, but they, to the Clarks' surprise and delight, reorganized their bakery schedule to be able to offer Tom, and eventually Adria, jobs.  The Clarks were excited to be given the opportunity to work in a small, friendly, independently owned company with an exemplary product line and extremely loyal customer base.  They enjoyed their time at On the Rise immensely. 

The dream of opening their own place was still in the back of their heads, however, and in the fall of 2008 a building on the corner of Detroit and Sloane (very near the Clark’s home) became suddenly available, a location that they had been telling each other for some time would make a perfect bakery; thus triggering a mad scramble to secure the necessary funds to (hopefully) make the dream a reality.  They signed a month-to-month lease with the landlord (Mickey Krivosh, owner of Around the Corner, who has been very helpful and supportive), and in early 2009 they received their small business loan, and Blackbird Baking Company was born. After that, the demolition and rebuilding began, and continued to the present time. No part of this process would have been possible without the support on so many levels of Tom’s family; Tom’s parents, Bob and Jane Clark (owners of the R.W. Clark Company, specializing in historic restoration and general contracting; Jane is also the co-owner of Solari in Rocky River, a beautiful Italian ceramics shop) and Tom’s brother Andrew Clark, also of the R.W. Clark company, who was in charge of the whole project and has put countless hours and so much of himself into the building.  All of their hands and heads and hearts have been so freely offered throughout the seemingly endless process; Blackbird belongs to them as much as it does to Tom and Adria, and Tom and Adria are eternally in their debt.  The Clarks wish to thank John Orlando of the Orlando Baking Company for his support and kindness, and getting us a good deal on the oven, the heart of the bakery.   They also wish to thank Erika, owner of River Colors Studio and Heidi, co-owner of Stitch Cleveland, and all of their employees and clientele, who have been so supportive and encouraging throughout the ordeal, Blackbird is thrilled to have them as neighbors!  The Clarks also wish thank the City of Lakewood, especially Drew and Nate from the Planning and Development office for all of their support, help, and encouragement during the building process.

Tom is delighted to have returned to his hometown to try and give something back the community, and both he and Adria are hoping to become, through Blackbird, a part of their surrounding communities, as well make a name for themselves in the greater Cleveland 'foodie' network. They have worked hard to make the space welcoming and friendly, as Tom says, he would like Blackbird to be ‘the living room of the neighborhood’.  

Blackbird Baking Company
1391 Sloane Avenue
Lakewood, OH 44107
216.712.6599

adria@blackbirdbaking.com
tom@blackbirdbaking.com
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