From Exhaust Fumes to the Sweet Smell of Success

“It was really a rough location,” recalls Sweet, who worked without air conditioning for two years after he had utilities installed. “We were definitely bootstrapping. But it was affordable.”

Today Sweet and his wife Angela operate Niedlov’s Breadworks in one of the landmarks of the southside revival -- a beautifully restored East Main Street building. The Sweets renovated the once dilapidated building as a retail bakery and café. In doing so, they helped pioneer the area’s commercial resurgence as other businesspeople followed their lead.

Sweet has also pioneered green business initiatives ranging from Niedlov’s large composting program that serves as a pilot Sweet would like to see implemented community-wide to a green-roofed canopy and a custom-made rainwater collection device which funnels runoff to an outside faucet Sweet uses to water his urban garden.

In recognition of his accomplishments Sweet was named 2010 Tennessee Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The national award honors characteristics Sweet possesses in abundance -- “entrepreneurship, innovation and determination.”

In May Sweet represented Tennessee as Small Business Person of the Year at National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C. During the celebration Sweet served on a panel representing “Main Street” small businesses. Other members of the panel were: J.J. Ramberg, host of MSNBC’s “Your Business”; Frank Masley, CEO of Masley Enterprises; Dinesh Lathi, vice president of buyer and seller experience, eBay North America; and Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

A Michigan native, Sweet came to Chattanooga to attend Covenant College. During a year he spent in Germany as an exchange student, he was inspired by the bakeries of Europe. Later, he attended the American Institute of Baking where he acquired technical expertise and went on to manage production at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor.

Niedlov’s Breadworks specializes in hand-crafted artisan breads, specifically whole grain and naturally leavened styles. The bakery also offers other specialty items, including cinnamon rolls, croissants, and whole wheat muffins sweetened only with honey and made with locally grown wheat.

As a wholesaler, Sweet provides custom baking services to the Terminal Brewhouse, St. John’s, The Blue Plate, and many other local restaurants, as well as retailing breads through Greenlife, Earth Fare, and Pruett’s on Signal Mountain.

In 2009 Niedlov’s received a Small Business Award from the Chamber, in part for Sweet’s community outreach. The service includes teaching baking classes to children and adults, donating bread to churches and other groups and mentoring home-schooled students in the bakery to expose them to a business environment.

“I’ve become as passionate about composting as I am about bread,” Sweet said of what he hopes will be his major civic endeavor. Through a partnership with Girls Preparatory School, he collects 300 – 400 pounds of fruit and vegetable trimmings each week for his compost heap behind Niedlov’s. He uses the resulting soil to grow organic herbs and vegetables for his family.