By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
VICTORIA—Soon, area residents will have a new place to grab some classic breakfast and lunch items with the opening of Fork That Bakery, 201 E. Main.
But more than just a place for a quick bite to eat or a cup of coffee, owner Brooke Olson hopes the bakery will become a hub of activity for the community.
And if early interest is any indication, she may soon get her wish.
As Olson has been working to ready the bakery for opening, starting with work on the building which was previously home to a chain pizza restaurant, many in the community have stopped by to check in, curious about what the new business will be and also offering to help out if needed.
"I would have to lock the door just to get things done," Olson said as people continued to stop by to check out the progress.
"Which is awesome that they are that excited," she said.
That excitement also helped her to decide to push up the opening timeline.
"Our business plan had been to wait a little while longer, but the community feedback has been so good that we think we are ready now," Olsen said.
Currently, she plans to open on August 19, with a ribbon-cutting scheduled for August 21.
With the building sitting empty for several years, Olson said a lot of work was needed to be ready to open, something Olson took on personally after purchasing the building.
"We have done everything that has been done," she said.
That work included refinishing built-in wood trim, painting, installing new light fixtures and setting up the kitchen from scratch.
"We had to call a guy to even get the doors to open," Olson said. "So we are going to slowly continue to remodel because it couldn't be an all-in-one project."
While this will be the first brick-and-mortar location for Olson, she has worked as a caterer in the area, practicing the craft from a home-based kitchen.
"Our food is very homemade," Olson said. "I like to do it myself. I like to work with my hands. We can't manufacture as someone else does, and we don't plan to."
While not currently living in Victoria, but with children in the school district, she said she wanted to bring something to the town that is not currently available.
"It's definitely more a small-town feel," Olson said. "What is here, they do well...so we are not trying to compete.
"But we thought they could use something else."
The menu, she said, is starting with staple breakfast and lunch items, including harvest meals so that travelers can get a hot meal every day.
Like any good bakery, she said she will offer a variety of breads, including gluten conscious and keto bread, which can be used on any sandwich on the lunch menu.
And the bakery will have a full coffee menu, where dine-in customers can get a cup of "regular" coffee for just 35 cents.
"We also have several selections of loose leaf tea that we are offering too," Olson said.
If locals take to the new shop, Olson said expansion is possible as she continues to fine-tune operations to fit customer needs.
"We would like to still be doing what we are starting off with, but we also want to open up to evenings and doing dinners," she said. "We have a huge backyard and patio area, where we want to be able to open that up and get it remodeled and give it a community place to gather feeling.
"We would really like to be able to do things like having bands in for people to be able to sit and get together."
She is also hopeful that she will be able to launch community meals.
"I think it is something that will go over well once we get to that point," Olson said.
At launch, the bakery will be open Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
