Foundation

So you want to know the story behind this place, do ya? How your grandpa was able open this quaint little bakery that your daddy is now in charge of? Well, come up here and sit on my lap and I'll tell you how it all began.

One day I was at work typing away on my computer when the phone rang. It was your grandma on the line and she told me that your great-grandpa Kevin wanted to meet with us at his office after I got off work. Not one for doing much after I put in my eight hours, I moaned and groaned a little, but I went anyway, naturally. Kevin dealt in wills and estates, so I was wondering why he wanted us to go to his office.

As it turned out, Grandma's family had a house in Tell City along the Ohio River that had been abandoned for some time. Some folks bought it dirt cheap and decided to turn it into a bed and breakfast. During the renovation, one of the workers found a peculiar little metal box hidden behind one of the walls and gave it back to the family. Inside the box was the last will and testament of Abner Obrecht, founder of a chair factory in Tell City. Also in the box were some stock certificates that the will specified to be left to his next of kin.

Now, Abner was an eccentric old coot from what I've heard; I never had the chance to meet the man. Lord knows how long that safe sat in that abandoned house. As it turned out, Abner's next of kin was your great-grandmother Julie. It appeared as though she was going to be the recipient of a nice little inheritance, except for one glaring stipulation in the will. As the acceptor of the inheritance she would have to establish her own commerce or service, in other words, become an entrepreneur. Now, your great-grandparents were not in a position to pursue this, so being next in line, your grandmother and I were offered the inheritance.

Let me make one thing clear, your grandmother is not one for change, and taking a risk that involved money is most definitely out of the question, so I really had to plead my case in order for her to go along with the idea. Your father and Aunt Emilie were still young, so your grandmother had legitimate concerns about college expenses and any medical expenses that may unexpectedly come our way. Your father was quite a rambunctious child and he made his fair share of trips to the emergency room. Did I ever tell you about the time he rode his tricycle down the basement stairs? Ah well, that's a story for another time.

After a lot of debate and hand-wringing, your grandmother and I decided to accept the inheritance. I had always wanted my own business and this was an opportunity we decided we just couldn't pass up. As luck would have it, or maybe fate, Eva and Daniel were on their way home from France were Daniel had just completed an apprenticeship at a local French bakery. I pitched the idea for us to open a bakery together and they agreed to the partnership. The rest, as they say, is history.

It took a lot of work, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of patience; but we got it done. We opened this little shop nearly forty years ago. It seems like yesterday your dad and aunt were running around the back room with pretzels in their hands. A lot of different breads have come and gone over the years, and some have been staples since we opened. None of us could have imagined this bakery would have done so well and we'd still be here. We put a lot of love into this place, made a lot of new friends and cherished memories. It goes to show that with passion, hard work, and doing things the right way, anything is possible; and that little bit of luck involving the inheritance didn't hurt either.