At three a.m. a crew of bakers arrive to prepare from scratch all the bake goods and deli items for Burke's Bakery and Delicatessen in Dansville, Kentucky. Above one of the bakers is preparing crust for their cherry individual pies. In this room where she is working, it is ten o'clock in the morning, and much of the baking prep work has been completed. A large task as Burke's is a popular bakery and people start streaming in when the doors open at seven in the morn, six days a week -- on Sunday they open at noon. 
The bakery is owned and operated by the fourth and fifth generation members of the family that work right along with the store employees -- above Joe Burke and to the right his son Joedy Burke. Joedy told me that it is rare to find a bakery today that bakes every thing from scratch.
A long line of glass cased counters line the entire one wall of the shop. Clerks are kept busy waiting on the many customers and restocking the trays and cases. The clerks were very friendly and helpful to me when I told them I wanted to take photos. My daughter and granddaughter were with me and they bought some of their delicious chocolate chip cookies and donut holes. I usually don't eat sweets but I tried some of the goodies from my daughter's bag and I can attest that they melted in your mouth. On the upper part of the wall behind the clerks is a vintage painting of bakers that is original to Burke's -- from about the forties or fifties.
Della is selecting some whole wheat bread for me. They also have -- French, Salt Rising and others.
OK, the rest of this post is a visual treat if you are a lover of sweets. I don't know the names of all the beautiful baked goodies but they were sure very strikingly graphic.
I was told that their gingerbread men are a popular item
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Butterflake Rolls
This case holds the deli items that are take-out just like all the baked goods. If you enlarge the menu on the case you will get an idea of what they carry and the price.
What a "sweet" place this store was. We had originally stopped in the store for directions as we were lost and ended up being treated to an old way of doing business -- from scratch!
Wow! Forget the sweet stuff -- hand over the butterflake rolls and nobody gets hurt.
ReplyDeleteNow this kind of place gives me hope for the future when you think of how they work hard, take pride in their product and prepare everything with love, otherwise those sweet goodies wouldn't taste so yummy.
ReplyDeleteJayne, I agree with you. I could feel the positive energy when I talked with the owners and the employees. They seem dedicated and yet full of personality that made the total experience of visiting the shop very comfortable. Thanks for the nice comment Jayne. -- barbara
ReplyDeleteVicki, I was tempted to buy a few of those butterflake rolls for sure. but, I held back -- maybe next time when I visit the Dansville area. -- barbara
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh. Our little town needs a bakery like this! I'm with Vicki... I'll take one of those butterflake rolls!
ReplyDeletewillow -- Yes, it would be nice to have small town bakeries once again -- instead of pre-packaged goods like you buy at the big box stores. Times are a-changing! -- barbara
ReplyDeleteOmg I take one of everything....everything looks so yummy.
ReplyDeleteTina -- Yes, it is a paradise shop for people with a sweet tooth. I know sugar is really not good for you but in small doses from a local shop couldn't hurt too much. Local bakeries are as scare as a needle in a haystack in most places in the U.S. I was promoting the local business idea as well as the folkway of preparing baked goods from scratch. Thanks for the nice comment. -- barbara
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