Continued from Page 8
options alongside the bakery’s time-honored
favorites.
“It’s a tricky balance, this incredible array
of product,” Lindy Swain said.
The bakery’s selection includes muf-
fi ns, cookies, cakes, breads and pies. In the
deli, aside from Reubens and clubs, there is
the Beach Comber, the Bogger (turkey and
cranberry) and a half-dozen more options,
each as tempting as the last. There is many
more options, like bread pudding, maple-ba-
con bars, cranberry white-chocolate scones,
hearty soups, croissants and nearly two
dozen breads.
Bakery manager Katie Witherbee-Allsup,
a former chef and baker, brings experience to
the table. She is strident about the commit-
ment it takes to produce fi ne food. Frank Fio-
rillo, the head baker, has come and gone over
several decades. He is the son of a baker and
grandson of a bakery purveyor. He regularly
starts his day in the bakery at 2 a.m.
“Challenge and honor,” he repeats, his
personal mantra throughout the workday.
Fiorillo’s assistant, Leo Hinogoza, for-
mally of Home Bakery in Astoria, follows
suit, a commonality among the staff.
The bakery is a major employer in
the area, with a staff of about 25 people.
Employees extrude friendliness, service and
a dedication to the owners’ mission, a vision
Photos by David Campiche
ABOVE: A rack full of pastries. RIGHT: Siorillo
and a batch of peanut butter cookies.
that will always include Dylan Harrell. A
percentage of the bakery’s profi ts goes to
Dylan Harrell’s local foundation, the Dylan
Jude Harrell DIPG Foundation, which raises
awareness of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma
and aims to help fi nd a cure for the disease.
The bakery remains one of the most
beloved gathering places for coffee, pas-
tries and sandwiches on either side of the
Columbia River. And now the bakery has
further purpose: to keep in remembrance of
the sweet child who ate pastries in this same
spot.
Thank
you for voting us
Best
Pizza!
OPEN DAILY 11AM-11PM
620 OLNEY AVE, ASTORIA
503-325-2855
THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 // 9