The beloved institution Chris’ Bakery is planning a return to Oak Harbor.

Patrick Christensen, who’s family owned the bakery in Seattle and later in Oak Harbor for 50 years, said he plans to be selling baked goods by this summer.

“A desire of my heart has been really wanting to come back in with the business one way or another,” Christensen said.

Plus, he said he’s had “a little pressure from family and friends.”

Chris’ Bakery was first opened in Seattle in 1948 by Christensen’s parents, Chris and Betty, and relocated to Oak Harbor in 1968, operating out of the location that is now Perla’s Oriental for 30 years.

Christensen and his father both served in the U.S. Navy.

Chris’ closed in 1998.

Christensen, who presently lives in Pennsylvania, said he hopes to have a booth at Holland Happening event in April to reconnect with the community and rent space from an existing business until a suitable retail space can be found.

“Even though we can’t get back into the old space, we’re going to bring back some of the old feel of the bakery,” Christensen said.

Christensen was encouraged by former Oak Harbor resident Eric Voock, who is one of many who remember the bakery fondly.

“I was one of those guys that frequented the bakery when I was a kid,” Voock said.

Voock said he and Christensen started talking about the bakery’s re-emergence last year and plans seemed to move forward after that.

Having found a career in sales and marketing, Voock is helping Christensen to re-establish the Chris’ brand in Oak Harbor.

“There’s a lot of history to the place,” Voock said. “It’s amazing how things are coming back together with a simple conversation.”

Voock and Christensen have created an online presence on Facebook to help spread the word, an effort they said has been successful.

In a recent post, Christensen asked, “If you could walk into Chris’ Bakery right now what two items would you purchase?”

Nearly 80 people responded, requesting things like a frozen lemon horns, raspberry danishes, sugar cookies and “awesome” Halloween bread.

Needless to say, Chris’ seems to have a faithful following of locals.

“This is great news for Oak Harbor,” said Jason McFadyen, lifelong Whidbey resident and president of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

“Anyone who has been around here long enough remembers how sad they were when it closed. I specifically remember their maple bars … asking my parents to stop every time we drove by.

“If they do reopen, I will be thrilled for our business community — but selfishly, I really just want a maple bar.”

The plan, Christensen said, is to move back to Oak Harbor and to get more involved in the community. He said he believes the bakery was so beloved because of the quality of its products and its role as a community hub.

“I’m really enthused and encouraged by the support,” Christensen said. “(The bakery) is for the people to have the sense of community. That’s one of the things I want to do, see what I can do to get involved in some way. Seems like the time is right.”