THE STORY OF BAKE'S PLACE
The Wild Side
 From early on, it was clear that Craig Baker would have a future in the music business.
When he was just six years old, Craig and his brother would put on shows from the front porch of their family home in Washougal, WA. While they lip synced to the likes of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, curious neighbors looked on. It was then that Craig realized that performing in front of an audience could be fun. The trajectory was set.
In 1964, Craig joined his first band- The Wild Side. He had heard that a group of teenagers in town had formed a garage band that was playing rock n' roll and blues. He approached the band and convinced then to bring him on as their lead singer. They agreed, and this was the start of a seven-year run for the band. Their first gig was a dance at the Grange Hall in Washougal. They charged 25 cents per person and packed the hall. The band had a very limited repertoire at the time; they only knew ten songs, which they played over and over throughout the two-hour duration of the dance. The members of the Wild Side were an "entrepreneurial bunch" and were keen to seek out performance opportunities for the band. After their success at the Grange Hall, they started renting out the I.O.O.F. hall in nearby Camas, WA and playing for dances every Saturday night. The hall rental was $15 a night and the band pulled in roughly $400, which they split six ways. These were pretty good wages for a small town band of teenage rock n' rollers.
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THE STORY OF BAKE'S PLACE:
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 Portland Years
After high school graduation, Craig enrolled in a culinary arts program at Clark College in Vancouver, WA. The Wild Side was still active and began playing a regular gig at a club called the Longhorn in Portland, OR. The band started playing a weekly Monday night gig at the club but by the year's end, they were working six nights a week. On Friday and Saturday nights, the Longhorn was filled with fans eager to dance to the grooves of the Wild Side. An after hours scene quickly developed, and the band often played until 5:00am, with local musicians dropping by to sit in. As the band popularity increased, so did their opportunities. Soon, they were in rotation at multiple nightclubs throughout Portland and typically plated seven nights a week.
"I have an empty basement and a piano."
 After his second year at Clark, Craig got what he characterizes as a "real job" and spent the next 30 or so years raising a family and working in the sales and engineering industry. His work took him from Portland to Boston, from Boston to Los Angeles and ultimately from Los Angeles to Seattle. Although he was not performing during this time, Craig still had a finger on the pulse of the music business. Because much of his work involved entertaining clients and organizing parties, Craig's budget included money to rent facilities and hire musicians. Craig hired lots of dance bands for these events and started to develop relationships with many of the musicians in the area. This was the start of what would be Craig's longtime connection to the Seattle music scene.
One of the musicians that Craig routinely hired suggested that Craig should check out a jazz performance sometime. Craig ventured to Tacoma and saw a jazz group called Low Flying Cattle. It was his first experience with live jazz and he was immediately hooked. Two things stood out to him that evening. One was the level of musicianship of the players. The other was the communication that musicians shared. They were able to clearly communicate with each other without so much as a glance. Craig was impressed: "It was like a well-orchestrated basketball game."
Craig immersed himself in the scene, attended as many performances as he could and got to know many of the musicians that were playing around town. He was committed to learning as much as he could about this exciting music. As Craig moved from venue to venue checking out shows, he was dismayed that in many of the clubs, people weren't listening to the music and that the band was basically relegated to background noise. One evening Craig went to a show at Jazz Alley and to his delight, the audience was attentive and quiet. He saw what happens when "people really listen."
Craig continued to give a lot of thought to the idea that jazz should be presented in a situation that lent itself to listening. At the time, he was living in a house off the Redmond-Fall City highway. One day, the thought occurred to him; "I have an empty basement and a piano." He already had a large group of friends and associates that he knew were music lovers. Craig thought it would be fun to bring a bar and some cocktail tables into the basement and to "make a little jazz room." He set up the space and threw an initial launch party, which was attended by over 200 people.
 Craig knew he needed to form some kind of legal entity for zoning purposes, so he set up his home as a bed and breakfast. Working off of his nickname "Bake," he called his new venture "Bake's Place Bed and Breakfast." He initially ran the jazz operation as a wine bar and took donations to pay for the music. When this wasn't enough to cover costs, he turned his jazz room into a private club and sold memberships. The club had music every Tuesday night. The house performers were keyboardist Wayne Bell and blues siren Korla Wygal.The scene at Bake's was very lively, and Craig was building relationships with musicians all around the area. Soon, the music was expanded to Friday and Saturday nights, and food service was available. Laura came on board as the caterer and worked alongside Craig as the club grew.
Eventually, Craig decided to expand his capacity and modified his patio to seat 200 people. The effort was fairly extensive; Craig added a stage with a full sound system and lighting. He also designed and helped build the frame for a large, overhead tarp, which covered the entire patio. Bake's Place presented many summer concerts and BBQ's, which were a big success.
A New Partnership & New Home
By the time that the summer concerts were in full swing, Craig and Laura had been working together for quite awhile; her catering company had been providing all the food for the concerts and jazz events at the club. Craig and Laura decided to solidify their working relationship and formed "B & F Enterprises Northwest;" the B and F is short for "Bake and Friends." With an eye to relocate to a more commercial space with an on-site kitchen that could better facilitate the food side of things, Craig and Laura set out to find a new home for the club. A classified ad in the newspaper led them to the Providence Point location, where the club now resides. The new space was exactly what Craig and Laura had visualized; it's residential location lent itself to the "living room" concept and it came with a commercial kitchen. The promoter and the caterer knew they'd found the spot.
 A year after Craig and Laura solidified their business partnership, they became partners of another kind; they were married in June of 2005. Their union brought together two families as Craig and Laura each have three children. Bake's Place is a family business in every sense of the word. All six of Craig and Laura's children have helped out at the club, and several work there on an ongoing basis. When the club was remodeled a few years ago, the whole family pitched in to move the fireplace, paint the walls, hang the new lights and transform what was already a beautiful room into an elegant and lush jazz supper club. The family touch is evident throughout the Bake's experience. In Craig's words, "It is always important that family be an integral part of what we do."
Looking Ahead
Craig and Laura are committed and focused. Their goal is to create a comfortable getaway, where their guests can unwind, let go of the chatter of the day and enjoy outstanding music, food and wine.In keeping with their vision, they are always looking for opportunities to grow and to take the Bake's experience to another level. As Craig says, "So much music, so little time."
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