The most common thing people say when they walk in the door to Mary's Cakes is "it smells so good in here." The most common response? "Thanks," but I am always tempted to say "We're a bakery, what were you expecting?"
It's one thing to have really good cookies and pastries (which we certainly do), but it's usually the smells that people remember. That wonderful bakery smell. Sometimes it's the bread, sometimes cake, sometimes chocolate ...gingerbread ...apple tarts ...banana bread ...toasted almonds ...cinnamon rolls... I could go on and on, and am not sure which I like best. They each have their own unique appeal, and they smell really good all mingled together. It's heavenly.
We're in the alley behind Main Avenue in historic downtown Northport, so you either have to stumble upon us, or know where to look. Downtown Northport is a small, quaint, walking district. It consists of barely a block and a half, both sides, of shops including an old fashioned five and dime, a fully stocked hardware store, a couple of antiques shops, a couple of home furnishing stores, a couple of dress shops, a folk art museum, an old fashioned barber shop, two hair salons and some art galleries and studios. Oh yeah, and City Cafe and the Globe, whose own smells compliment ours, consisting mainly of bacon and onions and garlic and shrimp. On a really good day, you can also smell the smoky flavors of Dreamland Barbecue, which is a couple of blocks away.
We used to have sandwich signs out on the sidewalk pointing our direction, until the city of Northport enacted a rather strict sign ordinance, but that's a whole other story...
I wish we could pipe the smells out to Main Avenue (it's been suggested) so people could just follow their noses back to the alley. Once you get close, the smell does draw you in. It starts right outside our porch when we are baking, especially in the cooler weather. Come on down, as they say here, and try it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.
Second most common thing people say when they walk in? "Wow, if I worked here I'd be as big as a horse..." Ever wonder why chef pants have elastic waistbands?
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