Sweet Christine’s patrons who keep visiting the bakery in the hopes that it will reopen will not have to wait much longer.

The once very popular gluten-free restaurant closed almost  a year ago when the owner decided to focus her attention on going national with a wholesale business, writes Fran Maye for Kennett Paper, published by Southern Chester County News.

Come early spring, the restaurant will open its doors again, this time with a bigger menu which will offer even more choices. The owner of the Bakery, Christine Ruggio, has decided to partner with Donna DiPietro-Walk, who will add her touch to ensure that the establishment, located at 503 Orchard Ave in Kennett Township, truly prospers.

“We don’t have anything here but gluten-free,” said DiPietro-Walk. “A lot of restaurants and food places offer gluten-free options, but they are not always prepared in an environment where they aren’t subject to cross contamination.”

Sweet Christine’s first opened nearly eight years ago, and as good word about the restaurant spread, it was soon hard for even its loyal customers to find parking at its original location. To solve this, the Bakery moved to a new location in 2014, reopening its doors on Orchard Avenue near the Wawa off Route 1. It did not take long for business to grow to the point where the owner had to make the decision to close the doors, and focus instead on building a national manufacturing business.

“I’m really excited to be working with Christine,” DiPietro-Walk said. “What she had done in the past eight years with gluten-free products has been amazing. She has grown her business into a national manufacturing business.”

Many of the customers’ favorites will make a comeback, including pizza, sandwiches, and baked goods.

“We will still have baked items, like cookies, brownies, pastries, éclairs, donuts, cream cheese cake pies,” said Ruggio. “They will definitely be gluten-free and all natural. It’s better for you than what’s out there, with no preservatives, nothing artificial.”

Apart from being particularly popular with people who suffer from Celiac Disease, as do both Ruggio and DiPietro-Walk, Ruggio also points out that gluten-free food is both healthy and tastes good.

“A lot of people are choosing gluten-free for health reasons today,” she said.

While the exact date and hours of operation have not been set yet, they will be soon published on www.sweetchristinesglutenfree.com.