Struggling tribe lends $500,000 to bakery

MARION STATION — TStruggling tribe lends $500,000 to bakery

Chief Rudy Hall last week pointed to a total of $1.4 million grants to the group for economic development or cultural preservation, including $737,250 awarded in October from the Administration of Native Americans — “and you must be Native American to get the money.”

Authentic desserts, natives

The grant, for personnel, operations, marketing and infrastructure at Bending Water was one of 59 awarded nationally and the only one awarded in Maryland, said Charlotte Scott, owner of East Coast Consulting who wrote the grant.

“With the new grant, the tribe is moving forward with its project, Bending Water Park, an authentic living village, which, when complete, will educate the public about the history, traditions, and culture of Eastern Woodlands Indians,” Scott said in a release. “It will also provide economic opportunities for American Indians that are self-sustaining.”

The loan to the Tulls’ bakery was taken from a $686,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one of 42 awarded nationally for economic development, Scott said. It would be repaid within five years, after refinancing from a bank at a longer term, she also said.

With the financial boost, the Tulls intend to expand to 72 employees, from fewer than five over four years. Hiring of low-income people and at-risk youth, along with job skills training, are priorities. They also are scouting for a location two or three times the size of the 2,000 square-foot Main Street bakery storefront.

“If we find a building suitable, we’ll get that,” said Tull, who wants to stay in Somerset County, and likely along the Route 413 corridor between Westover and Crisfield. “A year from now, we hope to be somewhere.”

The Sweet Shop owners also plan to invest in an upgraded Web site, expanded offerings as local crab cakes and a packaging component for global shipping of what Tull calls “the authentic Smith Island cake,” underscoring that while other bakeries and individuals sell the popular dessert, part of his business success is owed to the fact that he and his wife are natives of Smith Island.

“Little did we know that the cake would become the state dessert when we opened the bakery,” Tull said. “We were born and raised on Smith Island, and my mother would make me a banana-flavored cake every year on my birthday. She passed the tradition on.”

Plans for the Accohannocks include the filing of a petition the state next year for recognition as an Eastern Shore, Native American tribe, a status that would position the group for even more community projects, Hall said.

“What the community doesn’t realize is what the Indian people can do for the local economy,” Hall said. “We want to help the community, and we’ll raise the money we need, and move forward.”

dgates@dmg.gannett.com

410-845-4641

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