When most people think of a bakery, they imagine the smells of bread, cakes, pies and cookies.

But these days, bakeries involve so much than the time-honored basics.

Seven Stars Bakery, which has operated since 2001 on the East Side of Providence and has satellite stores on Broadway and in Rumford, plans to soon open a new location at 1255 Reservoir Ave. in Cranston.

Originally opened in January 2001 by Lynn and Jim Williams, Seven Stars Bakery was sold to Tracy and Bill Daugherty in the fall of 2018.

“We were customers forever. We were humbled and shocked when they approached us about buying the business,” Bill Daugherty said.

The Daughertys came to Rhode Island 14 years ago from Connecticut. Tracy has family in Massachusetts, but they preferred Rhode Island and settled in Barrington with their children, who are now in their 20s. Friends recommended they try Seven Stars.

The Williamses lived in Cranston before selling the business and moving to Vermont, and the Daughertys wanted to honor the love they had for their hometown and bring a Seven Stars to Cranston.

“When we were looking for locations – and we looked at a lot – once we saw the neighborhoods that are attached to the Reservoir Avenue location, we were hooked,” Tracy Daugherty said.

“We want Seven Stars to be a centerpiece of the community, a place for everyone to come together. Walking, bike riding, driving – we are accessible to everyone. We are building this store for our neighbors of Cranston,” said Bill Daugherty added.

The Daughertys take pride in the success of the store in Providence’s West End on Broadway.

“We moved into a building that had been boarded up for 13 years. We’ve rejuvenated the neighborhood. We are a place for the community to break bread together,” Tracy Daugherty said.

At the Pawtucket Bake Shop, from which all of the Seven Stars Bakery locations are supplied, there are 37 bakers working with head baker Sarah Williams, who is of no relation to Jim and Lynn.

“Sarah started as an intern from Johnson & Wales and has been our head baker for six years now,” Bill Daugherty said. “We have great people. Baking and operational, our managers are phenomenal.”

Tracy Daugherty said the bakery’s locations give their leftover food to shelters at the end of each day.

“It is nice to be able to support them,” she said.

She also said the business works to support the local food economy.

“We source local foods, local farms,” she said. “Right now it is peach season. So, we have some lovely peach offerings coming.”

Seven Stars Bakery is now hiring to fill positions at the Reservoir Avenue location.

“We are hoping to be able to open in mid-October,” Bill Daugherty said.

To learn more, visit sevenstarsbakery.com.