Eric’s Main Street Bakery bringing fresh face, pastries to closed cupcake shop in downtown Nashua

NASHUA – Eric Tedder channels James Earl Jones when he describes his strategy for Eric’s Main Street Bakery, his new establishment at 182 Main St. “If you bake it, they will come,” Tedder said, playing off of Jones’ quote from the 1989 baseball classic “Field of Dreams.” Tedder, a specialty cake maker and bakery owner for about a decade, recently returned to Nashua from Derry after operating several businesses under the names Blackberry Bakery and Specialty Cakes with ex-wife and friend Kim Meola. Tedder’s new space, filling a void left by Lovin’ Cupcakes and Cannolies in August, transforms the turquoise bakery from a sit-down cafe to a drop-in sweetshop filled with fine Italian-style treats – lobster claws and cannolis, just to name a few – and custom-made cakes for birthdays, weddings and christenings, among other special events. Lovin’ Cupcakes and Cannolies closed about five months ago, citing ongoing family and health issues, after operating at 182 Main St. for less than a year. “It broke her heart,” Tedder said of Lovin’ owner Lori Robicheau. But Tedder’s return to Nashua is like coming home, he said, after working downtown, managing Instaprint on Factory Street, for 15 years. “I feel like I grew up here,” Tedder said, looking out his shop window across the street to Martha’s Exchange. “I remember when Martha’s was just a sweetshop. It’s a good landmark.” An old friend of Philip Scontsas, owner of Scontsas Fine Jewelry and Home Decor, and Ron Bru, owner of Big Apple Deli, Tedder also is quickly making new friends with other merchants downtown, he said. It was neighboring business owner Cheryl Plunkett, of Fresh of Nashua, who got Tedder interested in Lovin’s vacant building through his mother, Mary Jo Tedder, who owned a convenience store on Main Street for years, he said. Tedder ended up calling 182 Main St.’s landlord and getting right in where Lovin’ left off.