Baked goodies

Sugar and spice and everything nice start the mornings at several area bakeries. With passion and wisdom, the bakers take a little bit of flour, an egg or two and some sugar, and make the goodies that warm our bellies and hearts.

Cyrus O’Leary

The famous crispy crust and gooey filling of Cyrus O’Leary’s pies began in 1983 at a local restaurant. Since then, Cyrus O’Leary pies have become a local icon. Everyone has their favorite. Dennis Dipo, a partner in the company, said his is the traditional apple pie. “They’re the way Mom used to make them,” he said.

Although the Cyrus O’Leary’s method of making their pies has changed over the years to meet increasing demand, the quality must stay the same.

“If we are going to change something, it has to be something where we still get the ‘Wow, that’s good,’ or we won’t change it,” Dipo said.

Great Harvest

The smell of yeast and flour leads locals to the Great Harvest Bread Co. at 2530 E. 29th Ave. on the South Hill. The bakery grinds its own grain for the hundreds of loaves of bread it makes each morning. Although a franchise, the South Hill Great Harvest feels as down-to-earth as a local bakery should.

White Box Pies

John and Shirley Glodt started White Box Pies in 2002. John had perfected a handful of recipes over the years, and the couple took a gamble to start their pie-making company.

The gamble paid off, and the couple spends days perfecting each pie they make meticulously by hand.

“People look for consistency; all of our pies constantly look the same… neat and pretty,” said Shirley. The Glodts make each pie so beautiful that a customer recently remarked to one of Glodt’s employees, “Oh, you really do make them by hand. I thought that was just a slogan.”