Every town deserves a good bakery – a place where neighbors can go for delicious cookies, fluffy pastries, a range of breads and to decompress while they sip a steaming cup of coffee.
BreadsNBakes is all these things, and more. It’s a friendly place where the staff enjoy a good back-and-forth banter with each other and the customers. The coffee, sourced from Hatch Coffee Roasters– a roastery in Toronto, is made by a barista who previously worked at Coffee Labs in Tarrytown. The breads – ranging from brioche to oatmeal loaves, pastries, soups, and sandwiches – are all delicious. And the store features large windows and an open floor plan, allowing you to peer into the kitchen where you can watch them make every mouth-watering dessert you see at the counter.
“We wanted it to be an interactive sort of thing, so people can experience it and see the craft,” says Jason Bowman, head baker and owner.
Jason and his wife Dawn began as a home bakery in 2020, and continued selling freshly baked goods throughout the pandemic. They received online orders, and customers picked them up outside of the bookstore where Dawn worked.
“It was a lot of fun…we took off quite quickly,” says Dawn, who now manages the front of the house with help from their daughter who graduated from college last spring.
In July of 2022, BreadsNBakes opened a brick-and-mortar bakery on Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge.
“Right from the start it was fantastic,” adds Jason.
They’ve been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming response from their community. It’s quickly become a place where neighbors meet to chat and casual business meetings are held. The bakery is open Thursday – Sunday, and their two most popular items are their flaky, buttery cinnamon buns and their sweet and airy pain au chocolat; together they make up about 30-40 percent of their sales.
What we also love about BreadsNBakes is that even if you don’t live in Pound Ridge, you get that small community feeling every time you walk through the doors. Their charming British accents don’t hurt either.
This article was published in the January/February 2023 print edition of Katonah Connect.
Ava Fleisher
Ava Fleisher is Connect To's star intern and a local high school student. When she’s not writing, you can find her spending time outdoors, reading, or volunteering in her community. When she grows up, she would like to pursue a career in journalism and travel the world.
