Local Bakeries?

Hey guys, I was just wondering, does the town you live in, or the one you grew up in have a local bakery? I know that Walmart and your major grocery stores all have "in store baked" breads and do cakes and such, but those come in as frozen dough, and frozen layers. The town Charlie grew up in had a bakery, I think its celebrating its 80th year this year, the town we live in did have one, until the gentleman who owned it got to an age and health that he had to retire.

Now the reason I'm thinking on this, hub is thinking about using the money he gets from his mom's estate to put in one in one of our buildings here in town, sell dounuts, fresh breads, cakes, cookies, pies etc. It's been one of his dreams since he graduated, and he finally may get to do it, so I was just mulling over it, wondering how many of us had favorable "memories" and experiences with local bakeries?

We have a local bakery in Porirua, it's called the Windmill. Everything is freshly baked and prepared and it's soooo scrumptious! I don't particulary like chain bakerys. This is where I would MUCH rather eat then fast food outlets also. That sounds like a wonderful idea Cindy!

There's one in the town where my parents live (and I grew up). They have a little restaurant area where they serve sandwiches and such. My mom buys the fresh donuts there, and my brother eats them all if we're not quick.

Aw that's cute. I grew up in Houston and we got our bread from the local Randall's. However I would've loved to grow up where there was a more "personal" feel to buying bread...

Good luck to y'all!

I had one in the town that I grew up in but my mom is a chef and always made everything so I my family never used it. Every now and then we'd stop by and grab something for breakfast when we were older.

I have a bakery in the town that I live in now and use it only in emergency situations. For example....I forgot my mom's B-Day one year so I ran over there and picked up a cake and just told her that I had been too busy to bake it myself so I ordered it.

I refuse to buy Wal-Mart or other store bought bakery items b/c none of them are good........they all seem dry to me. I will head to the local bakery first.

Oh yes, several in Berkeley. I love them, I personally won't even set foot in a Wallmart.

Yes, my home town had several bakeries, and I have always been a creature who appreciated favorite, dependable places. In the town where my dh works, there is a real bakery, and it is becoming a favorite place for us to get the very, very occasional goodie.

I wish you guys all the best with this...I used to think I'd love to have a muffin/cookie/teas and coffee shop when I was a little girl (pre-starbucks etc.).

Heh heh....not that it would help as your dh will have to assess the market in your area, but boy, could I make some suggestions of things to carry...hah!

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Heh heh....not that it would help as your dh will have to assess the market in your area, but boy, could I make some suggestions of things to carry...hah!

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Pat, our town is too small for Starbucks, so no luck there............and we're always looking for suggestions!

The bakery by my parents house is where I still buy most of my bread. I can't stand mass produced bread (dempsters, etc) and even the fresh grocery stuff isn't what I want. The bakery where i shop is a traditional jewish bakery and everything is wonderful. Considering how large this city is it's pretty hard to find a good local bakery.

Welll.....it really depends in part on what he kind of customer he wants to pull in, who is his target? Is there a particular dominance in the area by one ethnic group ie. italian or french or polish etc.

I miss old favorites...out here I can not find what I'd be able to in East Coast Italian theme bakeries..and if the one bakery I loved in Utica NY would just put up a website, I'd be ordering the pastry my departed Dad and I both loved so much...price once a year, would be no object!

So......imo, it's wonderful to have a bakery that makes old time classics...not just doughnuts and cookies, but real german chocolate cakes, baba au rum, chocolate brioche (divine!), strudel's, artisan breads...such as in this area there is a bread company called Great Harvest (is a co-op but also a chain, located in all natural food stores), really"granola" and the breads are to die for...blends such as mediterannean soughdough which has simple, wonderful ingredients - here is the list: fresh stone ground whole wheat flour, unbleached wheat flour, sourdough culture (natural) sea salt, water, green and black olives, spices, and is egg washed. Other gorgeous breads include a spinach feta..you get the idea. Just exquisite breads, and if you save your labels, every 12th loaf is free. This would be great for return business...exquisite rolls and artisan breads as well as croissants, brioche

He'll want to consider if he wants to go after the wedding cake business, and other specialty cake occasions (birthdays, anniversaries etc....offering more than the decorated sheetcakes they can get at their local grocery store.

DH just made a good point...pick a couple of things to excel at versus trying to do it all....oh yes, make sure to vent your lovely bakery smells from the ovens...outside to catch the attention of passing noses

Heh, Pat , you got me while I was PM'ing you, lol! I know he'll go after the wedding cakes, 'cause we do them and catering for family and friends out of our home now, with a health dept. approved bakery, we could advertise them and do more than now.

Originally Posted by KittenKrazy

Heh, Pat , you got me while I was PM'ing you, lol! I know he'll go after the wedding cakes, 'cause we do them and catering for family and friends out of our home now, with a health dept. approved bakery, we could advertise them and do more than now.

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Well I feel like a ditzy blond! I didn't recall that Anyhoo...I also sent you a pm with more suggestions, hope it was helpful

Coolness!

I have to admit, sitting here re-reading thru this thread, I'm sitting here drooling!

I heard a few months ago that my favorite bakery in Augusta, GA went out of business after about 50 years. On the last day, everybody in town flocked to Smoak's Bakery to get the last cheese danish. Too bad they didn't go enought to keep the place in business another 50 years.

There are a few bakeries here that I go past all the time, but have never stopped in. The one I remember was when I was a kid, and we had to pass it on our way to school. The name was Besse's, and OMG, she made the best chocolate creamsticks! They were to die for! Oh rats, now I'm going to have a craving that I won't be able to forget till I eat one!!

In my hometown, we have 2 full bakeries, and a shop that just does breads. I used to drive by the oldest bakery and pick up a loaf of potato bread once a week. I've moved away from there and have to make do with Wonderbread now.

When I was little, my dad used to take us to the bakery on Sunday morning and we'd always get a free cookie from our neighbor who worked behind the counter.

Let's see - we have four independent bakeries, though one is what we call a "Konditorei", meaning it specializes in cakes, pastries, cookies, etc... and has a cafÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]. The absolutely best thing about Germany is the bread! Think bread and rolls with the consistency of a real New York bagel, or the taste of genuine Jewish rye bread. Quite frankly, most of the bread and rolls in the U.S. are pretty bad - mushy and tasteless. You can get decent bread on the East Coast, but definitely not in the Midwest or Southwest. And the situation is even worse in the U.K..
Wonder bread -

I wish there were proper bakeries around here. We have Great Harvest, which is good but .... We vacationed in Montreal several years in a row with my in-laws and once home, my mother-in-law would always miss the little bakeries the most. *sigh*

Super idea!!!
We don't have any bakeries out here....just my own kitchen BUT we do have Black Diamond Pizza, which is as close as you can get. This hippy couple from Wisconsin came out a couple of years ago and brought their home-made pizza-from-scratch talents with them....everything comes from the vegetable garden and they also make desserts for after the pizza.
They bought the old victorian bank on the corner (there is only 1 corner ) and turned it into a 6 table pizza spot. He makes the most divine chocolate decadence cake you ever had.....wonder where in the veggie garden that comes from???!?