Art Hop and BLTeason

It’s been awhile, I know! In my defense there has been a lot happening at the bakery. Too much to discuss in just one email, so perhaps another one will be coming your way soon. At least sooner than the last one.

Summer has come, but I’m stubbornly insistent that it has not yet gone. Nature, I think, seems to be in agreement as it punishes us with heat and humidity this week, almost in direct response to our premature suggestions of pumpkin spice lattes and flannels. Autumn will have its day, but September in Michigan, and in particular, Labor Day weekend, is still a beautiful time to bike to the lake and soak in another sunset or three.

And if I’m forced to admit the waning of summer, at least I have the fruits of the season’s hard work. Literally! Tomatoes are here! After a too cold spring, a too wet May, a too hot June, a too dry July, and - actually a pretty ideal August, our farmers are showing up to market with perfect tomatoes that you can only get this time of year. We’ve come to call them heirloom tomatoes but these are the kind Judy grew up on as a kid. These were the standard before tomatoes were bred for shelf life, travelability, and looks, all things that helped people sell more tomatoes and make more money but at the tragic cost of flavor.

And if I’m forced to admit the waning of summer, at least I have the fruits of the season’s hard work. Literally! Tomatoes are here! After a too cold spring, a too wet May, a too hot June, a too dry July, and - actually a pretty ideal August, our farmers are showing up to market with perfect tomatoes that you can only get this time of year. We’ve come to call them heirloom tomatoes but these are the kind Judy grew up on as a kid. These were the standard before tomatoes were bred for shelf life, travelability, and looks, all things that helped people sell more tomatoes and make more money but at the tragic cost of flavor.

Thankfully we have farmers in this area that know what they’re doing, that put in the hard work, and are growing tomatoes like we used to, like we should. I realize I’m pushing my generational boundary waxing poetically about the ‘good ol days’ but let me take it a step further, I don’t think we should have everything we want every time we want it! To be less dramatic, I would rather have a tomato that tastes as good as these for a month or two rather than a tomato any other time of the year.

At some point a few paragraphs back I think I had the perfect segue into the crux of this email, but I got greedy with my ramblings and there’s no going back. Anyway, we’re in tomato season! Which means we’re in BLT season! BLTeason as I like to call it because I think I’m oh so clever. We have as good of tomatoes as ever, sourcing them from our friend Pat at Kirklin Farms and our farmers market neighbors, Silverbeet Farms.

What’s really changed this year is the bakers’ commitment and understanding of tomatoes. Tomato triaging is better than ever, allowing us to serve up ripe ones and reduce spoilage. We’ve sourced the perfect shattery bacon that makes for easy bites and doesn’t all pull out and disassemble the sandwich. And the wonderful growers and educators at Valley Hub have been getting us hydroponic lettuce that is safe and reliable! Their downtown campus is less than a mile away, so we couldn’t ask for something more local! So come enjoy a BLT at the bakery, we’re open every day of the week and lunch is from 11-3. But if you can’t make it down for lunch, there’s still hope for you yet, because we’ll be making BLTs TONIGHT from 5-8pm as we stay open late for Art Hop!

I love what Art Hop means for Kalamazoo, seeing people walking around, appreciating not just the shops but our community’s VAST art scene. It’s a chance for us to use the bakery space in a new creative way, hosting people in the evening brings out a different atmosphere, different people, different conversations. But maybe that’s just the complimentary Two Hearted.

This is an incredibly important Art Hop to us. Our very own bakery manager, Julia Ftacek, will be hosting her first art show of surrealist mixed-media collage. Taking inspiration from album art and punk show flyers, her work blends fashion photography, religious iconography, and more to interrogate notions of identity, gender, and the limits of good taste. What started as a hobby for her was clear to everyone else that it deserved attention and space and appreciation. While she has fallen victim to the classic millennial blunder of monetizing a passion, we are all extremely grateful and excited to see her work as a collective showing.

Art Hop is tonight from 5-8pm! We’ll have complimentary snacks (and two hearted) and will also be serving pizzas made to order, sourdough pretzels with pimiento, and, against my better judgement, BLTs for the ravenous tomato aficionados.

Bakery love,

Alec