Today was filled with…
…Bread [duh]
…KERF readers [thanks to all who came in to visit!!]
…and Mint Juleps. [Because we can’t work too hard!]
We wrapped up day 2 as a great success – only about 5 loaves were left on the rack at the end of the day! Predicting how much bread to make and timing it to sell out the minute you close is a major challenge of bakery owning [so you minimize waste] and we’ve had too optimal days! Hope you all enjoyed the bread, Cville!
We said our goodbyes to the Great Harvest opening team today as well as mom + dad and welcomed Jason, who is staying with us through Wednesday for our last bit of on-site support.
After a handful of dinners out, Matt and I just wanted to grill out at home tonight, so we invited Jason over. Lucky for us he brought a bottle of Maker’s with him! And he’d never had a proper Mint Julep, so Matt got to work!
I don’t know where we found the energy, but Matt and I put together dinner like worker bees. Thanks to the wonderful Karen, we had shrimp, eggplant, tomato + moz, potatoes and broccoli in our fridge ready to go. Unfortunately she wasn’t feeling well enough to join us, but she brought the ingredients by. Thanks Karen!
We made caprese salads to munch while dinner roasted
And sipped a few tastes of Matt’s beers
And then feasted on a collection of grilled items
Eggplant + broc in olive oil and smoked paprika
Taters rubbed in rosemary + olive oil + salt and roasted in foil for about 20 minutes and then without foil for 10 more on the top shelf
And some smothered in teriyaki sauce and grilled to a crisp
Matt and Jason were both up at 3AM this morning and are still going strong on the porch. I got up at 6 and am about to crash! Hoping to do some reading and then rest my eyeballs.
Even though I am very thankful to have a day off tomorrow, I have to admit I’m kind of already excited about Monday. I just love working around food! I decided if our bakery sold something like widgets or computer parts I would NOT enjoy it! There’s just something about bread…
Julia says
So glad to see the bakery’s a success and that you’re having fun! Have a great day off 🙂
Meagan says
Fun day!
What do you do with the extra loaves at the end of the day?
KathEats says
They get given away to employees and friends and if there are more, we take them to the Blue Ridge Food Bank just up the road. (Did that 2 days in a row)
Morgan @ moments of mmm says
Love this! Wasted food is always a sad thought.
Dana says
Agreed! 🙂 I knew of a bakery in my university locale that threw its loaves out at the end of the day..was such a shame. Locals found out about it though and did some dumpster diving!
kaila @ healthy helper! says
I loove grilled dinners! Shrimp on the barby is fabulous…and I love a little char on my veggies!
Here’s to a successful second day!
Maria says
This post made me SMILE. 🙂
Allie (Live Laugh Eat) says
Widgets?! Hahaha! Have a great rest day ,KERFs!
Mary Frances says
Widgets… maybe if it was something like a Pumpkin/Cinnamon/Oatmeal/Raisin Cookie called Widgets, Kath would still be excited about Mondays and enjoy.
Dee says
Sounds like a great two days so far!
Meg says
SO awesome, Kath. I’ve been loving watching it all unfold and all the smiles 🙂
Kat @ Cupcake Kat says
Congrats on a successful day. The people who get the leftover loaves are extra lucky!
Liv @ The Salty n' Sweet says
This is definitely your perfect career! It looks like lots of work, but I’m sure it’s fun and so worthwhile!
Jil @ Big City, Lil Kitchen says
Glad your first two days have gone so well!! Does GH do ‘day old’ bread sales?
Kate (What Kate is Cooking) says
I can’t wait to visit your bakery one day if I’m ever in Virginia 🙂 I’m almost out of the Naturally Nutty peanut butter I bought when I went to Great Harvest in Tempe!
Melissa A. says
I realize you don’t want to have loaves left over at closing, but could you donate them to a food bank or soup kitchen? I know that some places around here do that, or have in the past anyway.
Melissa A. says
D’oh I guess I should read the comments before commenting. I saw your reply above. 😉
KathEats says
Yeah, luckily we have one 2 blocks away
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says
Taters rubbed in rosemary + olive oil look awesome as does the caprese salad.
Love your tshirt: Professional Loafer. Too cute!
Being excited about work on Monday and being all jazzed up…AWESOME! It would realllllly suck if you put all this time, money, and energy into a biz and by week #2 of being open, you’d already be dreading monday’s…now that would be a bad sign. So happy you’re lovin it!
kris (everyday oats) says
Yall seriously have endless amounts of energy!
Theres something about grilling that just screams summer and i just love it 🙂
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
I’ve never had a mint julep either and seeing that one definitely makes me want to try it!
I can’t imagine anyone getting excited over selling widgets 😉 Bread is so much cooler!
Sarah @ The Strength of Faith says
I don’t think widgets or computer parts smell the same as bread …
Lissa says
How kind of Karen to do what she can for you two. I hope she is feeling better soon, no fun I am sure. Tell her good energy is being sent her way.
Congrats on a successful opening, makes my mouth water when you talk about the bread and goodies.
Jenny @ Fitness Health and Food says
What a wonderfully successful day! 🙂 Congrats! 🙂
Silvia says
It’s so good to see you enjoying the work you do; wish you both success and happiness!
Since we are not close to you guys I may have to go to the local Great Harvest and get some cookies….they are the best!
Jessica @ The Process of Healing says
What a delicious looking dinner!
And congrats on your bakery’s succcess…knew it would be 🙂
Pam says
So glad everything is going well with the bakery. Very cool!
I’m a longtime reader and it’s been amazing to see your life from one phase to the next.
Khushboo says
I’m the same, I don’t care what exactly I’m doing, i just like being around food!
lynn @ the actor's diet says
i’m curious if you can keep using “bread” in every post title for all of june!
Justeen @ Blissful Baking says
I would also LOVE to work around food! Hopefully, someday I will be able to! 🙂
Michelle (The Runner's Plate) says
That’s awesome you are enjoying your job so much! I hope I can say the same thing one day!
Allison @ The Delicious Life says
congrats on all the success with your bakery! i would definitely love to work around food and BREAD. so much fun!
Ella says
Congrats on a great 2 days! Are you closed on Sundays?
KathEats says
Yes, one day off for loafing 🙂
Ella says
Hahaha… oh dear 🙂
Marina says
It’s so awesome how much you’re enjoying it all!
Get some good rest on Sunday!
Hannah says
So glad to see you’re happily taking days off 🙂
Jumanah @ Healthy Living in the Middle East says
Its so nice to hear that your really enjoying working at the bakery! Its so nice to hear when someone is in a job that they love to do!
Your grilled dinner looks delish!
Emily @ Life on Food says
I am so happy for your successful first two days. I am encouraging my Aunt and Uncle to visit. I stopped by a Great Harvest in Connecticut this weekend. Its about an hour away but well worth the trip. Such good bread. I know exactly what you mean. There is something so special and fullfilling about making and sharing food!
Wishing you well in the coming weeks!
Jennifer says
That’s so great that you enjoy it so much. You may not want to cut back to part-time. 🙂
Your dinner looked delicious. Is the bakery closed on Sundays or is it open every day?
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
It sounds like you’ve really found your perfect job. You’re so lucky you’ve found something that makes you smile everyday.
Enjoy your day off today!
Paula says
Congratulations on your opening! It looks and sounds wonderful. It must be so gratifying to see your hard work pay off. Best of luck in the future!
chelsea says
do you guys have spreads at your bakery? I was at a Great Harvest in Fayetteville, NC and I bought a cream cheese type of spread to take home with my bread that they sold there…it was delicious!!!
KathEats says
Not yet!
Allison (Have it Your Weigh) says
It was so great meeting you yesterday, Kath! Your store was amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and give us those great recommendations. We had an amazing day. Congratulations on a great opening weekend!
KathEats says
It was so nice to meet you guys too!! I didn’t realize you were an RD!! Come back and visit soon 🙂
Jessica says
As a Kentucky girl I must point out Maker’s does not a proper Mint Julep make. You need Woodford Reserve!!
Congrats on the bakery. It looks amazing!!!
jenna k says
i like the way you think!
Danielle says
It was so nice to meet you yesterday, Kath! Thanks for posting the photo. 🙂 Allison and I also had a great time at Jefferson and Zocalo – thanks again for the recommendations. Great job with the opening of your GH!!
KathEats says
Hey Danielle! I didn’t realize you BOTH were RDs!! How cool!! So glad you got to Jefferson and Zocalo. Did you get the pepper dish!?
Sabina says
What do you do with extra bread at the end of the day? Where I live, I’ve seen bakeries sell it for 50% off (i.e. half hour before closing) or charitable organizations pick it up at no cost.
Sabina says
Oops! I didn’t read your replies before posting. 🙂
J3nn(Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
Working with food and plants is my favorite! Retail us fun when you have a steady flow of customers and work to do.food biz is usually minimal complaints, unlike clothes or hardware.
Those shrimp looks delish!
Tracy says
I love that you are excited about Monday already! You are in the right profession then 🙂
Ashton says
It would be great to use the extra loaves for individual bread puddings too!
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife says
woah your dinner looks rockin’. YUMM! I love grilled food in the Summer!
Janna Lauver says
Kath! Long time no see/hear! I am so happy to be reading (albeit backwards) that your are baking away. Cheers to you and Matt on a successful bakery opening.
Miss you in Montana… the snow is finally melting off the mountains. Soon we will be taking that treacherous road back up to the reservoir and the falls you didn’t get to see.
Think of you!
Janna Lauver says
PS: My lack of grammar and spelling capabilities in the above statement are 100% the work of my extremely exhausted brain. I blame the baby in the making. Yep. The stork will be visiting us around Thanksgiving. We are currently feeding it REAL food – in honor of you. Oh, and I am typing this while eating fresh bread in Great Harvest – Bozeman. 🙂
KathEats says
CONGRATS Janna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie says
I tried grilling shrimp for the first time the other week and it was undercooked 🙁 Any suggestions on how you get them just right? Yours look delicious!!
Love your blog!
Stephanie
KathEats says
You just need to leave them on longer!!
seana says
My best wished to Karen. Hopes she’s feeling better soon 🙂