Irma Boyd

HANCOCK — “Nisu” is a traditional sweet bread made with cardamom. It’s also the name of a new Finnish-style bakery in downtown Hancock. While you can get nisu bread there, the delicacy might not have originated in Finland, according to owner and Finnish immigrant Irma Boyd.

“It’s not a word that’s used in Finland,” Boyd said. “I wonder if it’s something that was made up here.”

Boyd has dreamed of owning a Finnish-style bakery for over 20 years. However, her husband Kevin was in the military for the last 33 years and the family moved too frequently to set up shop. Both of them have family ties in Hancock so when Kevin retired, this is where they came. (Coincidentally, Kevin’s side of the family once owned the hat shop where Milly’s Pizza is now.)

“My husband said, ‘The only way I’m going to Michigan is if we go to the Keweenaw,'” said Boyd. “Finally, we are getting rooted.”

Boyd didn’t immediately hang out her bakery sign. When she first started planning to open a shop, the pandemic put a temporary stop to her plans. Then, last summer, she suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“It was unknown how I would recover from that,” said Boyd. “That was something that kept me looking forward. So, come December, I knew it was time.”

Boyd knew that she wanted to open her bakery in Hancock because “the Finnish culture is stronger in Hancock” than in Houghton. She was originally looking at a location on Hancock Street, but the building on 208 Quincy Street went up for rent and the door was open one January day when she was passing by.

“I thought, ‘This is exactly what I imagined my bakery would look like,'” said Boyd.

The building needed some work, and contractors were still hard to come by in the post-pandemic rush, so preparing the building took a little longer. A section of the shop that sells products and candies imported from Finland, as well as decorations and jewelry made by local artisans, was able to open before the kitchen was up to code. But two months ago, the bakery opened for business.

“Business has been great. Everyone has been so welcoming,” said Boyd. “I had one customer say, ‘I want to check you out and see if you bake like my grandma,’ … I have brought back a lot of memories with people who have parents or grandparents from Finland.”

Boyd benefits from this relationship, too, as it has quickly made her feel at home in the community. She can regularly be found at one of the tables having conversations in Finnish with regulars – or people from out of town who come to Hancock and to the Nisu Bakery and Café for the “authentic Finnish culture.”

“I seem to have met a lot of people whose fathers or grandfathers emigrated here at the same time as my grandfather (was working here),” said Boyd. “There are so many people that are older, second-generation Finlanders” in the U.S. Boyd’s grandfather came to the Keweenaw three times to work in the mines, but always returned to Finland and his family.

Naturally, the Nisu is a best-seller. But, so are cinnamon rolls made with cardamom, and even cardamom-infused coffee that patrons can drink on-site or to-go – or buy by the bag to make at home. Standard black coffee and other taste combinations of Boyd’s own creation are also available as are smoothies and other beverages.

Of course, not everything tastes like cardamom – or like dessert. The bakery also sells savory breakfast and lunch items for dine-in or to-go ordered from a friendly staff. (It may not be on-theme, but one clerk greets customers with a hearty “Howdy!”).

The Nisu Bakery and Café can be found on Facebook, at nisubakery.com, or visit the location at 208 Quincy Street in Hancock. Boyd encourages visitors to bring friends for games, to brush up on their Finnish, or just meet together.

“If you have a book club or a knitting club, come use a table,” said Boyd. “I’m paying the rent anyway.”