Start with Smales Pretzels, a business now in its fourth generation as a family-run pretzel bakery at 210 Xenia Ave. Smale's still uses a revolving stone oven and century-old technique.
Vehicles pull into the lot all morning as customers visit to get their pretzel craving on. Enticing wafts of freshly baked goodness leads the way from the parking lot to the door.
Expect to see Larry Smale, 65. He’s at the oven every day and business never seems to slack.
The bakery began with German-born Rudie Schaaf opening Gem City Pretzel on Warren Street in 1906. The shop’s location in a residential neighborhood dates to 1926 when his daughter, Emma, moved it there and renamed it.
Pretzels are the shop’s only product — hard or soft, very salty to light salt. We prefer the soft kind, right out of the oven.
“People are addicted to the pretzels,” Smale says.
He’s right.
Low-tech it is, but the production is fascinating to watch. Pretzel dough is cut, twisted into shape, loaded on wooden paddles and launched into the revolving stone oven, probably the only one like it anywhere in the region. At the other end, the finished soft pretzels travel down a metal slide and into bags for customers. Take some packets of mustard if you like.
Baking is done from 6 a.m. to about noon. Buyers should bring cash. It’s how business is done. It’s open 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Fortunately for pretzel addicts south of Dayton, another pretzel bakery is in operation.
It’s tucked away in a neighborhood in Kettering near Patterson Boulevard.
Besides pretzels, K & R Pretzel Bakery at 1700 Flesher Ave. sells a selection of candy, such as Boston Baked Beans sugarcoated peanuts — treats that would be familiar to older generations in the style of the old time neighborhood candy store. The pretzels are tasty and filling. Visitors give it high marks for its old-fashioned feel and affordability. Again, bring cash.
It’s open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
When pretzels are not on your list, two family-owned bakeries in town are a must-visit. Both have long, loyal followings and perfectly offer the experience of an old-time neighborhood bakery, a vanishing species in too many communities.
Evans Original Bakery at 700 Troy St. in Old North Dayton is in the grand tradition. It operated under that name from 1969 to 2004, but closed for a time when a new owner ceased operations.
Then the daughter of longtime owner Bill Evans brought it back to life. Evans purchased the bakery in 1969 and operated it with his wife, Rosemary, until selling the business 35 years later. The new owner operated the bakery from 2004 until 2011.
Today, you’ll find Jennifer Evans in charge. She reopened the shop in 2012. Evans specializes in doughnuts, cakes, custom-made pies, bread, cookies and pastries. She loves to take custom orders for pick-up.
“I’m glad to be back and have my parents business open. Old customers have come back and we have a lot of new customers,” she said.
A bakery’s been there since 1927 and the corner location just feels right. The business has a tag line, Jennifer Evans says. It’s “Every Neighborhood Deserves a Good Bakery.”
It’s open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Another great family bakery in Dayton is Rinaldo's Bake Shoppe, 910 West Fairview Ave., near Good Samaritan Hospital.
The shop’s been there since 1965 when it was opened by chef Rinaldo Stolfo. Specialties are classic bakery-style cookies as well as traditional kosher treats like Hamentashen and challah bread. The shop is also known for its fresh strawberry cake, novelty cakes and European pastries.
These days, Rinaldo’s is operated by John Stolfo, 56, son of Rinaldo. Business is still going strong, and the gingerbread men and other cookies are terrific. And if you like, they also make a really mean pretzel doughnut.
It’s open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
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