Scars from the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire manifest themselves in ways beyond the visible swaths of burned vegetation on the northwest side of Colorado Springs.

The owners of the Great Harvest Bread Co. bakery and cafe at 1466 Garden of the Gods Road, haunted by the memory of the devastating fire, decided to move their business east of Interstate 25 – the rough dividing line for a vast portion of the mass evacuations ordered for the city’s west and northwest neighborhoods during the fire.

But Mark and Ainley Jewell had to wait for their lease to run its course before they could move. They closed the old location in October, and will celebrate the grand opening Thursday at 8668 N. Union Blvd., just north of Research Parkway.

“The Waldo Canyon fire hurt us pretty bad over there,” Ainley Jewell said. “We lost sales and were shut down for four business days. Our customers were displaced. Every time I talk about it, I get an emotional lump in my chest. So many customers cried on my shoulder.”

She said the new location will have more space, more seating, a kids’ corner and an expanded menu that includes salads, soups and paninis in addition to the baked goods, which are made on-site from scratch.

With the Jewells’ other Great Harvest location at 12229 Voyager Parkway, they’ll have 10 employees, and plan to add five more.

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