Dear Answer Man, what's going on with U-Bake, the take-and-bake dough shop in Crossroads Plaza? They're closing this month. — Mark
That's as much as I know, Mark — the two-year-old shop at 90 14th St. S.W. in Rochester will mix up its last batch of dough within the next week to 10 days . Owner Dianna Baker said she can't say more about the matter, but I've heard from more than a few customers who are unhappy about it. People who need gluten-free dough products are especially bummed.
Watch this space for more details. Also, there's good day-by-day information on remaining stock at the U-Bake Facebook page.
As my colleague Jeff Kiger has reported, a new Jimmy John's sandwich shop will open soon in the former Maid-Rite Diner spot next door.
Here's another, because I like to leave every customer satisfied:
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Dear Answer Man, what was the inspiration behind the name of Sumner Elementary School in Austin? Other schools are named for local leaders, but I've never heard the story of Sumner. — Laura
I need to dig more, but the school dates from 1894 and it seems reasonable to guess it's named for the famous abolitionist senator, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. He was one of the great voices for ending slavery in the days before Lincoln, and he was on the receiving end of one of the Senate's most infamous moments: In 1856, he was beaten and critically injured by a Southern congressman wielding a cane.
There's a Sumner Township in Fillmore County, established in 1853 and named for the senator, and a township in Winona County also bore the name for a while — it's now Norton Township. There was a town of Sumner in Freeborn County that had dried up and blown away by 1876.
Sumner died in 1872, but when Austin was building its new elementary school in 1894, he remained a giant of mid-century American politics. Until I dig further into the school district archives, I'm sticking with Chuck.
