Our story
A card table, a home oven, and a very stubborn starter.
Marvin and Melitza have been baking out of a home kitchen and a farmers market stall for years. This year they finally have a building in downtown Sylva — a former hardware store with a tin ceiling and just enough room for the ovens they always wanted.
The bakery in numbers
- 2026Opening in downtown Sylva this year
- 36 hrsCold ferment on our sourdough
- 4:00 AMWhen the first oven goes on
- 6Seats at the coffee bar
A corner of downtown Sylva
The building was a hardware store for sixty years before we got the keys. We kept the tin ceiling, the wide plank floor and the brass bell on the door, because some things do not need improving. The bread ovens went in where the paint aisle used to be.
Mornings start at four. The first ovens are on by half past, the sourdough comes out around six, and the pastry case is full by the time we unlock the door. If you come at seven the croissants are still warm. If you come at eleven, we are sorry — you should have come at seven.
The cake room is at the back, and the coffee bar has the front window: six seats, a lever machine and a view of the street. It is a small building doing a great deal of work.
How we bake
Four things we decided on before we ever turned an oven on.
Slow is the whole point
Our sourdough ferments for thirty-six hours before it ever sees the oven. Croissants are laminated the night before. Nothing here is rushed, because rushed is what you can taste.
Made here, every day
No frozen dough, no shipped-in cake layers, no mixes. If it is on the shelf, someone in this building made it that morning with butter, flour and their hands.
Neighbors first
We buy flour from a mill two counties over, honey from a keeper here in Jackson County, and fruit from whoever is picking that week. The money stays close to home.
Everyone gets a seat
Step-free entry, wide aisles, high-contrast menu boards, and a staff that will happily read the case out loud. Tell us what you need and we will make it work.
By hand, on purpose
Nothing here comes out of a box.
Every loaf is shaped by hand, every cake is torted and filled by hand, and every buttercream flower is piped petal by petal onto the cake itself. It is slower. It is also the whole reason we bothered opening a bakery.
We mill-source our flour two counties over, buy honey from a keeper here in Jackson County, and take whatever fruit is being picked that week. If the peaches are not good, the peach hand pies are not on the menu.
Who you will meet
Just the two of us — a husband-and-wife bakery. You will probably get Marvin at the counter and Melitza in the cake room.
Melitza
Owner
Keeps the starter she has been feeding on her kitchen counter for years, and taught herself to decorate. Sketches every cake by hand before a single tier gets baked.
Marvin
Owner
In at four every morning, shaping country sourdough by hand. Give him two weeks and he will know your usual order before you reach the counter.
Come see us, or start with a question.
Tuesday through Sunday in downtown Sylva, once the doors are open. Wedding tastings are by appointment and we are taking bookings now, so get your date on the calendar early.