Green Apron Bakery shares traditional tastes

BY PETER WEINSCHENK

THE RECORD-REVIEW A quartet of sisters in rural Athens makes baked goods, including sourdough breads and puff pastries, that are so delicious that some of their customers have to pinch themselves to make sure they are not in Europe.

“We have customers who travel tell us that this is what they get in France,” said Beka Bahler, one of the four sisters. “It’s always a good day when we hear that.”

The sisters, who form Green Apron Bakery, make their baked goods in a 15 by 20 foot kitchen attached to Beaver Creek Store, a bulk foods store that has been in business since 1983.

The baking business, which also creates scones, muffi ns, cookies and granola, uses a single Moffat convection oven for all that they do.

“We use the oven for everything,” said Hannah Bahler. “If that oven breaks, we’d be in quite a pickle.”

The baking business started in 2010 when the sisters took some simple breads to the Wausau Farmers Market, made some sales and kept coming back.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” admits Beka Bahler. “But what we brought sold. It went over. We kind of steadily grew.”

The sisters report a spike in sales that started two years ago. That happened as Green Apron Bakery started to supply coffee shops all over central Wisconsin with sweet delectables.

Currently, their pastries are for sale at Condor Coffee, Patina Coffee, and the Ugly Mug in Wausau; Redwood Roasters Coffee in Edgar; and Uptown Coffee in Marshfield.

To meet demand, the sisters bake coffeeshop goodies on Tuesday for Wednesday delivery. They bake breads and pastries on Friday for sale at Saturday’s farmer’s market in Wausau.

See GREEN APRON on pag 6