Published: November 09, 2006 09:00 am      

New site, new tastes

Collin Street Bakery restaurant on I-45 an early hit

Even without a splashy grand opening, the new Interstate 45 Collin Street Bakery store had a big first day Saturday.

The new shop, which combines a restaurant with a bakery outlet, did a very healthy business Saturday, and business has been brisk ever since, said Hayden Crawford, director of public relations for the Collin Street Bakery.

“We were inundated with customers all day long,” he said.

The second store is located at I-45 and U.S. 287, near the Home Depot, and directly across the road from Gander Mountain. It’s a Southern Plantation style, with white columns and a towering sign to attract the eye of drivers on the interstate.

The new bakery is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. However, with only three days of experience under their belts, the managers are already thinking of expanding the hours.

“We saw a lot of people pulling up at 9 a.m. (Sunday) hoping to get in for breakfast,” Crawford said.

Customers dining in Tuesday afternoon had other requests — for better signage from the Interstate, where the new location seems to conflict with directions on a billboard for the old store, and for parking for truckers and motorhome drivers.

They’re still working out the kinks on a number of issues, Crawford admitted.

Inside, the store is four times as large as the original retail outlet, and shares an open-floor concept with the restaurant, which serves sandwiches, soups, salads and chips.

Customers stopping in Tuesday afternoon were eating sandwiches on bakery bread while eyeing the goodies behind glass in the glass cases along the wall.

“I’m amazed at the decor, the cleanliness and the tastiness,” said Eleanor Clark, who was finishing a cookie while waiting for her friend to finish buying a pie.

Clark, an author who lives in Fairfield and travels frequently to signings for her children’s books, said she worked at the bakery in 1958 typing labels.

“I’ll go out of my way to go to the Collin Street Bakery, but this is so much better,” she said. “And you can eat here, too. That’s what I like.”

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Janet Jacobs may be contacted via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com