Cake for life offered for tips in Sarasota bakery vandalism

SARASOTA (FOX 13) - Owners of a bakery in Sarasota think they have the right recipe for finding the vandal who shot out their window.

But instead of a cash reward, they're offering something much sweeter.

From cookies to cupcakes and everything in-between, there is a lot of sugar flowing at Sift Bakehouse in Sarasota. Christine Nordstrom is the proud owner.

"There are a lot of challenges in owning your own small business," she said.

One of those challenges came up this week.

"I was at dinner and got an email with the heading ‘Police on scene, please respond ASAP,’ she said.

Christine rushed to her business to find a shattered front window.  Officers with the Sarasota Police Department said someone shot it with a BB gun.

"I walked up and looked at it and was, ‘Well, let’s just figure out what to do next,’" she said.

The cleanup, a new window and additional security measures will cost about $1,500. That's a lot of cookies.

"I'm disappointed that someone would choose to do that to us. I'm a single mom, small business owner. My dad has brain cancer so I support my parents and my children," she said.

At first, Christine was pretty upset. She couldn't figure out why anyone would want to do this to her business. Then she started thinking. Why not fight crime with something that everyone loves? Now she is offering up a pretty sweet reward.

"We did a free cake for life. You'll get one six inch cake a month, for life, as long as we are in business and as long as you are alive at the same time," she said.

Christine is focused on turning a bad situation into one that she can make light of.

"All I can do is have a positive attitude about it and react in a positive way," said Christine.

If you can help Christine solve the crime, you can have your cake and eat it too.

"I've had about 15 people tell me they were on the hunt," she said.