By JON BAKER

PROVIDENCE  ---  It took about four years for Seven Stars Bakery, located about a mile over the Pawtucket line at 820 Hope St., to become a success story. Back in 2005, owners Jim and Lynn Williams figured they just had to give something back to the community that made it such.

“We really didn’t know what to do, but then we heard of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, so we called them,” said Lynn Williams, relaxing in a tiny backroom office at the Hope Street location. “We told them of our idea, and then we went and visited their place on Niantic Avenue. We were totally blown away. It used to be a grocery store, but they had turned it into a really awesome place.
“They were so organized, and they catered to so many programs for underprivileged people,” she added. “We decided right then we had to help them out.”
On Jan. 2, the bakery’s seventh anniversary, the Williams’ tandem and their staff of about 25 full- and part-time employees donated all of that day’s earnings to the food bank. Last Wednesday night, the total reached $6,600, with approximately $450 coming from workers’ tips.
This latest gift included monies from the couple’s second locale, one that opened this past June at 342 Broadway. Over the previous two years, with only the Hope Street coffee and pastry house in business, the Williamses -- who live on the East side not far from Brown University -- raised nearly $10,000.
Whomever thought the holidays end on Christmas night, or even New Year’s Day, have never met this extended family.
“They have a heart of gold, and their generosity should not go unrecognized,” said Michael Cerio, the food bank’s public relations director. “The same goes for their staff, who donated their tips for the day. We have a wonderful relationship with Lynn and Jim. They have always just asked that the money go to what would make the most impact.
“Those of us at the food bank are very proud to say that 92 cents of every donated dollar go to our hunger distribution programs,” he added. “Their gift is incredibly significant. We find ourselves purchasing more food than we have in years past to help meet the increasing need around the state. We’re growing a bit each year, and it’s because of monetary donations of all shapes and sizes. It could be $25,000 from a huge corporation like Stop & Shop or a single can of peas. It all means the world to the food bank.”
Among those largest programs are the Kids’ Café (designed for youngsters who don’t know where their next meal may come from); community kitchens; the neighborhood pantry express; and Rhode Island Community Farms.
“Certainly, Pawtucket and Central Falls are two of the communities around the state with the highest need, and the money from Seven Stars will help all of our 300 certified member agency programs,” Cerio offered. “They also include soup kitchens, meal sites, food pantries, all of which are known as emergency food providers.”
In the past fiscal year, the non-profit organization based in Providence has distributed over 8.4 million pounds of food to the needy, and Cerio noted that each dollar raised equals three pounds of food. That means, for the donation from Seven Stars, the bank will be able to distribute almost 20,000 pounds.
It’s a dream come true for Lynn Williams, a Pittsfield, Mass. native who traveled to southern California to attend Occidental College back in 1989, though she had no idea what she wanted as a career. While there, she worked at a “great little bakery” in Pasadena to help fund her education.
“I loved it,” she said. “It was my first glimpse into realizing that I didn’t have to work in an office to make a living.”
She later opted to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., graduating in 1994, and moved back to California. That’s when she met her husband. Because her parents had relocated to Jamestown, they chose to move back to the East Coast, where she and Jim decided Providence “would be a cool place to live.”
It was pure happenstance that the couple discovered Al’s CITGO gas station on Hope Street for sale, purchased it in May of 2000 and developed it into the bakery it is now. Among the favorites, all of which are now baked at Hope Artiste Village at 1005 Main St. in Pawtucket: Olive, walnut raisin and Durum breads, as well as almond croissants, lemon cakes and ginger biscuits. Likewise, the coffee comes from New Harvest Coffee Roasters, also in Pawtucket.
“Developing a gas station into a bakery was a major job, but it’s worked out well,” she stated. “We have a good core of people within walking distance, and we get a lot of people heading to work in the morning looking for pastry and coffee. Not a lot of our customers are college kids, but we hear that they’ve come from Lincoln or Cumberland or as far away as Boston.
“I’ve had people tell me they had our olive bread at a party, and just had to get more, and I get e-mails all the time. One said that her sister lives in Providence or Pawtucket, and when she comes here, they visit the bakery. She also said, ‘I love the lemon cake. Can I have the recipe?’”
As for donations to the food bank, she plans on making it a tradition.
“We plan to do it every Jan. 2, on our anniversary, and I get excited just thinking about it,” Lynn claimed. “Before this past (event), I tell everyone come in on the Second because I want it to be successful. It makes me feel good that our staff gives up their tips. They understand what we’re trying to do. It’s all about giving back to the community.”