Jun. 30—As he often has the past year, Brian Williams walked Tuesday from his work to Clabber Girl Bake Shop Café for a carryout lunch.

"I've been coming here quite often since the pandemic started last year. It's convenient for me," he said. Even before the pandemic, he used to go there a few times every month. "They have good food," he said.

But he won't be able to go there much longer.

Clabber Girl Bake Shop Café will close after Thursday, according to its Facebook page.

"Thank you to all our customers and employees who we've had the pleasure of serving over the last 18 years. Rest assured, however, that our Clabber Girl manufacturing facility will continue to remain a part of downtown Terre Haute and we look forward to seeing what comes next for the historic 900 Wabash Ave. building," the announcement stated.

The bake shop café is located in the Hulman and Co. building at Ninth Street and Wabash Avenue.

Curbside service will continue from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. today and Thursday. The bake shop café has provided curbside service only since March 2020 because of the pandemic.

The Clabber Girl Museum will also be closing, according to the Facebook posting.

Williams said the news is "disappointing, but understandable. We'll look to see what happens next."

Also making the trip to the bake shop were Lynette Klingerman and Teresa Robbins, who both stood outside to purchase items with the "Clabber Girl" logo.

"I found out they were closing and I have a sister who loves this stuff," Klingerman said. "I'm buying her a birthday present."

Klingerman said that whenever her sister came to town, "She always wanted me to bring her here."

Robbins bought several items for family members. "When my daughter's in town, we always try to bring her here," she said. She purchased items that included an apron, mug, tee shirt and tea towels.

They agreed the closing of the bake shop "is sad."

"It's an institution for Terre Haute that we are losing," Robbins said.

Clabber Girl states that it has a limited number of retail items available for purchase today and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those interested can call 812-478-7189.

The Hulman and Co. building has provided office space for Clabber Girl and has housed Clabber Girl's Bake Shop Café, which is owned and operated by B&G Foods.

The Hulman family and its employees started manufacturing "clabber" baking powder in Terre Haute in the 1890s. In May of 2019, the family sold its Clabber Girl operations to B&G Foods Inc., a New Jersey-based maker and distributor of a broad range of food products including Cream of Wheat, Green Giant, SnackWells and others.

Last summer, Terre Haute businessman Greg Gibson purchased the historic Hulman and Co. building, which has been a fixture in the community since its opening in 1893. At that time, Gibson said he would honor all leasing agreements and tenants would continue operating as they were with no immediate changes planned.

On Tuesday, Gibson stated that "the lease agreement between myself and B&G Foods remains the same. The closing of the Clabber Bake Shop Cafe was a decision made by B&G Foods. The lease agreement currently in place for the building remains in effect with no immediate changes."

B&G leases about half of the building and the rest has been used until recently by the Hulman family, Gibson said. All leases expire at the end of this year.

The museum has not been open to the public since the pandemic hit and the exhibits are owned by the Hulman family, Gibson said. "I believe that they are still deciding what they want to do with the items. If they decide that they may want to consider keeping the museum in place, I'm happy to discuss it."

Late Tuesday afternoon a public relations firm representing B&G stated by email, "As to your question of why the shop is closing — B&G Foods lost their lease on the shop."

Last summer, Gibson stated that in purchasing the building, "I considered this an opportunity to keep the ownership of this prominent piece of our city's history within our Terre Haute family."

He further stated, "With my commitment and involvement in downtown Terre Haute, I thought this provided an important piece of the puzzle not only from a development and historic standpoint, but for the future of our downtown."

He also stated at that time he would continue to work closely with the Hulman family in determining the future of the Clabber Girl Museum.

In November of 2019, the Hulman family announced the sale of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Co. to Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corp. Among the assets sold were NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions (IMS Productions).

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue.