While Catonsville’s Charlsie’s Bakehouse is closing its doors at the end of the week, baker and self-described “workaholic” Morgaine Brunn hopes that there’s another gig on the horizon.

Earlier this month, Brunn and her husband and business partner, Alex, took to Instagram to announce the 5-year-old bakery’s closure in anticipation of their first child in July. As the former executive pastry chef of Foreman Wolf restaurants, Brunn said that she understands the value of in-season, from-scratch baking — and as parenthood begins to claim more of her time, she’s not willing to compromise the Charlsie’s process.

“You can taste and just tell the quality of stuff,” said Brunn in an interview with The Sun. “With the prices of our things being a little bit higher, there’s no way that I could, in good conscience, offer people anything less than the best that we do.”

Amid this news, and the shop’s upcoming “Grand Closing” celebration, Brunn is already sketching her post-maternity leave next steps. Although plans are still tentative, she has been ideating with the team behind legacy restaurant Faidley’s Seafood — and she told The Sun first that there’s a “pretty solid” chance that she joins their upcoming Catonsville restaurant, brewery and event space, The Fishmonger’s Daughter, as a pastry chef.

“They’re a really great family establishment, and we’re a really great family establishment, so I think we would mesh well,” Brunn said. “They’re planning to open when my son would be turning four months old, so that would be a good time frame for me to go back to work.”

In the meantime, Brunn said the vast majority of the Charlsie’s fan base has responded supportively to news about the closure, both online and in person. However, she also estimated that a slim “5 to 10%” of her following has been less understanding.

“There are some people who take it inwardly, because we’re their hangout spot, their library and their community space,” she said. “We try to explain to them that we’re closing to focus on family, and they won’t hear it. There are customers that won’t take it as a positive thing, even if we try to portray it as that.”

Even if her plans with the Faidley’s team fall through, Brunn is confident that she will quickly be back to turning out her signature handcrafted pastries — whether for her own business or for others. While she’s excited to experience many of her favorite local Catonsville festivals as a customer, rather than a vendor, she admits that she can’t stay away from the bakery for too long.

“I don’t enjoy not working,” she said. “So, this industry fits me perfectly.”

Have a news tip? Contact Jane Godiner at jgodiner@baltsun.com or on Instagram as @JaneCraves.