Anyone remember the Springdale Bakery in the Springdale Mall from the 70's? (sales)

[blackberrybunny]

Just wondering if anyone remembers the Springdale Bakery that used to be on the outside of the mall, near the main entrance? NOT the bakery that was inside Dillards, across from the Kopper Kettle Restaurant, but the bakery that was on the outside of the mall? It was there in the 70's.

My German grandparents owned and ran that bakery. They are dead now. I used to visit the bakery and my Oma & Opa when I was a little girl. And wander the mall, on big adventures! Do you remember the stairs that were not too far from the main entrance? There was a set of stairs on either side, with a slope in the middle for wheelchairs. The floor was some kind of brick, and back then, I was allowed to wear my indoor skates in the mall and I had a blast skating down that little slope! It was a bumpity bumpity clacka clacka rough ride though, haha!

But the best times, of course, were spent in the bakery, decorating cakes (I was terrible at it!) and getting into all of the cake decorations, the little cars and animals they would put on the cakes.

The mysteries of baking donuts and pies were answered to me in the back of the bakery, where my uncle made rum cakes, and Simmie the baker made the best donuts! The huge ovens let out the wonderful smells of yeasty bread baking and the one machine that scared me the worst was the bread slicing machine! My Opa actually had 2 of his fingers severed in a slicing accident years before, at another bakery location. He always told me, "They never found my cut off fingertips!" LOL That story always scared me a lot!!

My grandmother's name was Frieda and Elsa was the larger tall Polish-German woman who ran the register and got everyone's orders bagged up. I have wonderful memories of these two lovely ladies. But nothing was better and more memorable than the SMELL that was in the bakery, when I'd first walk in..... Wow, that was heaven! As a kid, I felt SO lucky that my grandparents owned a bakery!

When you walked in, there was a long mirror that stretched across the wall, over the top of a length of bar, where patrons could sit and enjoy their donuts and coffee. It had a few round anchored stools there, in red, no back on them. I'd climb up and spin spin spin!

To the right, when you walked in, was the bakery displays full of cookies and cakes and donuts. There was also a very old Coca-Cola machine to the right. I was very interested in how this machine was refilled with cans of soda by Opa. Oma would give me change so I could get any drink I wanted.

On the left side of the bakery, past the seating area, was the window where people would place their cake orders. It was enclosed in a wall of glass. People could stand there and watch my Oma and her employees decorating the cakes. To the right of that was the entrance to the back of the bakery, and I felt so privileged just to be able to walk back there, in the 'off limits' area of any store... to the back, where all of the mysteries of baking were solved! It was hot back there, from the huge ovens and vats of hot oil. Amazing to a little girl!

On the outside of the store, as you stood on the sidewalk facing it, the door was to the left, and to the right was a large enclosed case which showcased some amazing and huge wedding cakes and other cakes on display. I always wondered if they were REAL--- could I still eat them? LOL! They were real, the sugar had hardened over time and sealed them up. You could see into the bakery from the outside, and it was a very popular place.

My grandparents sold the bakery in the early 80's and it was closed down. Later renovations would turn it into some other store, I forget which one..... the space was merged with the store next to it. I missed the bakery a lot. Good times, great memories and wonderful treats. Some of my best childhood memories were from that special bakery.

*WARNING---Fruit Cookie Bar mystery revealed!

*Everyone always said that my Opa's Fruit Cookie Bars were THE BEST thing they baked. My family and I would laugh and laugh at this, because in truth, those fruit cookie bars were made with ALL of the scraps of everything that was not used in up the bakery the previous day! The pieces of sheet cake that were trimmed off, the old brownies and other cookies, bread pieces, stale donuts, everything that could be used was incorporated into those bars. They were square. They didn't have any visible large fruit pieces in them that I could remember..... but obviously Opa had to add SOME kind of dried fruit to make them 'fruit bars' and I think I remember raisins??

They had a confectioner's white sugar hard frosting on them. And everyone LOVED them the best! Next to custom ordered cakes, they were the #1 item as far as sales went! There was no recipe for them, just whatever could be used was what made them taste so good I guess. (Everyone is probably saying EWW GROSS, hahaha, but I kid you not, they WERE good~!)

If anyone remembers the Springdale Bakery, I would love to hear your stories! I'm 45 now, the bakery and my grandparents long gone...... It was one of the best places I loved as a little girl. Sharing your memories with me will make me very happy! Thank you!