Small bakery a big hit in Gentry with sweet treats and sandwiches
GENTRY — Just in time for this coming fall, the Honeywheat bakery and deli, located at 225 S. Gentry Blvd., is serving sweet treats, bakery goods, and deli sandwiches to Gentry residents and nearby neighbors, and the owner, Miriam Yoder, is preparing to serve some of her favorites to local customers.
Before the Honeywheat bakery opened for business, the house at the location had changed hands numerous times. Once, it was a residential house that was converted into a hair salon business called the “Kut & Kurl Family Salon.” Later, the “Caswell and Company Bakery and Coffee shop” bought the house and remodeled it.
Together, Yoder and Jenna Klaffen reinvigorated the house by adding some custom touchups like painting and redecorating. This gave the “Honeywheat” bakery and “Copper & Cream Catering” company its unique rustic setting and homey feel that’s inviting to visitors.
Klaffen is the owner of the Copper & Cream Catering company.
Honeywheat bakery and Copper & Cream Catering company share the same house because
it is helpful to both companies.
“It’s mostly during the day and evening type of thing,” said Yoder. “For the bakery, you have to bake everything in the morning, so we’re done with the kitchen by 10 a.m. And then by that time, she (Klaffen) comes in … and can take over and do her thing.”
The Honeywheat bakery has a variety of freshly baked goods such as breads, muffins and cookies. It serves other culinary delights like deli sandwiches and quiche.
Some of the recipes are Yoder’s own take on the classics. She takes a familiar taste and revamps it to add her own flare to her creations.
“It’s just whatever we feel like making. Just odds and ends of what we’ve picked up here or there. I’ve been in the food industry for the last 10 years. And so, you just kind of pick up a little bit of what people really want.”
Some of these recipes are close to home.
“The bread recipes, I got from my mom … and the sugar cookies are actually my grandma’s recipe. That’s a really big hit.”
She says she is “so shocked over how people rave over the sandwiches” and it makes her “so happy.” But the reason their sandwiches are so popular is that they bake fresh bread every day and slice the meat and cheese in the morning. “It does make a difference,” she adds.
Despite the bakery’s variety of breads, there is one bread that stands above all: the jalapenos cheese bread. The jalapenos cheese bread is the best seller, and the bakery can’t keep enough of it on the shelf. Customers keep asking her and her team to make more.
Yoder says her “favorite part” about the Honeywheat bakery getting to see people enjoy her food and the association that comes with it, especially from the elders in the community.
“I just love it when people are so excited about a baked good. You know everyone has their favorite items and they’re just so delighted to have it, and we actually have a lot of elderly grandmas and grandpas that come in and they’re just so happy.”
The Honeywheat bakery is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Honeywheat bakery Facebook page continues to provide updates on new items and specials. There, visitors can see the delicious goodies offered at the bakery and deli.
For more information or special orders, customers can also call the Honeywheat bakery at 479-5256010.