Many thanks to our customers, local
and national, on our fourth birthday
{ Drop by the bakery this Thursday--our birthday--for a free cup of coffee with any purchase }
Four years ago I left a career in magazine publishing to launch a rural bakery in the northern Virginia Piedmont boonies, and named it after the old red farm truck I bought from fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Just as we opened the doors the economy plummeted to the lowest point since the Great Depression; that frightened us but we've held our own, thanks to some incredible national reviews and a cadre of loyal customers from near and far. Thanks very much to you and to our good staff for making it fun and worthwhile (that's us three bakers--me, Kevin and Ryan--at left).
As soon as we flipped the open sign the reviews started to come in. Marian Burros of The New York Times discovered us first; when her story appeared our website hits went from two dozen to 57,000 in one day. Southern Living, Esquire, Washingtonian, Garden & Gun and the New York Social Diary swooned over us, and Roadfood's Jane & Michael Stern dropped by several times and cheered us on via NPR's "The Splendid Table" and Parade magazine ("You'll see us in the corner drinking our moonshine cake"). The Travel Channel's Andrew Zimmern told a Minneapolis newspaper that "Red Truck Bakery's granola is the best in North America" and we were slammed with hundreds of granola orders to ship. Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema included us in his annual dining guide of "Top 40 Favorites" and Washingtonian magazine called us their favorite country-drive food destination (and voted our pumpkin pie the best in D.C. ~ and we're fifty miles away!). Garden & Gun included our sweet potato pecan pie in their "Made in the South" awards, and Veranda magazine named our lemon cake number 20 on their list of "The Most Beautiful Things Made in America." You can imagine what happened when Oprah's O Magazine put us on their list of favorite online grocery sites. Earlier this month Slate magazine wrote about our bakery's history; you can read that here.
The good words from our customers mean the most to us, though. Thanks to readers of Virginia Living magazine who voted us the best bakery, best locally-owned coffeehouse, best breakfast place and best place for sandwiches ~ not in our town or county but in all of northern Virginia, and to Warrenton residents who today voted us their favorite bakery for the fourth year in a row (even with two national bakery franchises nearby). We hope we're doing a better job than ever, and we encourage our customers to keep us on our toes. Let us know what you think, as did this Michigan customer:
Hello Brian! I just received your granola delivery today. Honestly I am almost in tears; this is the best, most delicious wonderful crazy fantastic granola I have ever had in my life! My husband is laughing at me--I am a granola lover and have tried several places online only to end up disappointed. I have found my true love; you guys rock! I have eaten almost one whole bag and am having difficulty moving now, but so worth it! Thank you so much and you are now stuck with me as a customer for life. --Heidi Carlson, Caledonia MI
So--we couldn't have done it without you. If you're nearby, stop by this Thursday for a free cup of coffee on us with any purchase (we hear all the time that it's the best coffee on the East Coast, and we agree). If you're an online customer, please know that we really appreciate your business and hope that you'll continue to send our unique baked goods to friends, relatives, corporate clients and to yourself; we promise to always offer up personalized service in return (who else sends a handwritten thank-you note with every order?). Thank you very much for supporting this homegrown rural dream.
--BRIAN NOYES, owner and baker-in-chief
PS: Follow us on Facebook by clicking here. We sometimes offer up specials and discounts available quickly only to our friends and followers; it's also a good place to read about seasonal offerings or new chef's whims without us having to clog up your email folder.
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Brian Noyes
owner and baker-in-chief
Red Truck Bakery & Market
22 Waterloo Street
Warrenton, VA 20186
540-347-2224
Visit the website at RedTruckBakery.com
We ship nationwide via our website--see RedTruckBakery.com for details. We're a classic bakery homegrown in the horse country and fertile farmland of the Virginia Piedmont, with three professionally-trained bakers. Our recipes are developed right here at our Old Town Warrenton bakery kitchen--all doughs are made from scratch, and we bake it all fresh as can be right here under your nose. Nobody can match our popular breads, tarts, pastries and our big hefty pies using local dairy and produce, including fresh and seasonal fruit (never canned nor frozen). See why The New York Times, Garden & Gun, Esquire, Southern Living, Washingtonian, Veranda and other publications are swooning over our goods. And take advantage of our rural Virginia location: we ship our double-chocolate moonshine cake, with real hooch from the next county, all over the nation.
Come see us! We're in the Virginia Piedmont hunt country, 45 minutes west of Washington, DC, and just 20 minutes from the revered Inn at Little Washington in Rappahannock County. STORE HOURS: We're open weekdays from 6:30 am until 5 pm, and Saturdays from 7 am until 4 pm; we're closed Sundays. Feel free to call ahead to reserve one of our regular items if you can't make it in early; we'll happily accommodate special orders with 48 hours' notice--we don't want anyone leaving disappointed. Selected Red Truck Bakery goods are also available each Saturday in Little Washington at R.H. Ballard Art, Rug & Home, 307 Main Street, 540-675-1411; The Corner Store, 3710 Sperryville Pike, Sperryville, 540-987-8185; IGA, 8382 West Main Street, Marshall, 540-364-9588; Tri-County Feeds, 7408 John Marshall Hwy., Marshall, 540-364-1891. Call ahead to confirm availability.
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