Rumors of the closure of the Great Harvest Bread Co. on Ridgely Avenue rattled the community, and those rumors came true Feb. 8 — though after a rapid turn of events, the bakery is now set to reopen Thursday.

In January, owner Frank Dembia was looking to sell the bread and pastry business before his lease ended. At the time, Dembia was talking to potential buyers, but the bakery’s future was uncertain.

That was, until Joe Kirby read a Capital Gazette story about the potential closure and decided to check out the business. He hit it off with Dembia, and now Kirby is coming on as the bakery’s new general manager with plans to purchase the business sometime later this year. No date has been set. Details on the sale are still being hashed out, though the asking price on the property listing was $175,000.

Kirby, a graduate of the Naval Academy, spent six years on active duty in the Navy and left in the mid-90s to help raise his children. He later worked as a manager for Circuit City stores in eastern Maryland. After that, he became a recruiter for consulting firm Korn Ferry International. Currently, he is the landlord and owner-operator of the Cathedral Place apartments in Annapolis.

Kirby baked as a hobby before deciding to make it a career.

“I am beyond excited that a journey that started about a year ago, going out and getting formalized training in baking, has landed me in a position today where I might be able to apply that leadership and organizational skill to something that I have a personal passion about. So, it’s a great marriage of those two things, personal and professional,” Kirby said.

Kirby did some of his training at Black Market Bakers in Annapolis.

He used to frequent Great Harvest Bread with his kids.

“When I heard about it, that it was going to be closing and maybe going away permanently, I felt like I had to act, and I felt like the community needed to preserve this,” Kirby said. “Not only preserving what it is but building it into even more [with] greater involvement with the community. I’m all about the service to all of our first responders, police, and fire … I want to engage with veterans, the Naval Academy alumni.”

Kirby also wanted to preserve the 20 to 25 jobs at the bakery, though new employees will likely need to be brought since the previous staff departed after the Feb. 8 closure.

Dembia, who extended the lease and will remain owner until Kirby takes over, said he was touched by the reaction to the bakery’s potential closure.

“The outpouring of feedback and support from the local customer base was very impressive that last week [we were open], so that also gave us a really good feeling about doing what we’re doing now,” he said.

Dembia noted that Kirby will be purchasing a franchise territory, meaning he has the option of creating satellite locations within a 10-mile radius stretching as far as Severna Park or Kent Island. For the time being, Kirby said he’s focused on getting the bakery back up and running, but after that, he wants to convert the store into a Great Harvest Bakery Cafe, a version of the franchise with items like sandwiches and salads, as well as a seating area.

Have a news tip? Contact Benjamin Rothstein at brothstein@baltsun.com, 443-928-1926.