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The passage of a hometown bakery

I lamented the sad news this past weekend when my parents showed up from Michigan to my house in Columbus, empty-handed.
“Did you know Butler’s Bakery closed?” was their surprised greeting.
Butler’s Bakery was a locally-owned, Main Street, bakery located in Van Wert, Ohio, that sold a garden-variety of baked goods, but what we really loved were their egg noodles. First introduced to them at a Main Street training back in 2008, I chuckled when our host announced we would have the privilege of eating “life-changing” noodles with our chicken lunch. While I’ve never had “life-changing” anything before with a meal, these noodles *were* excellent and I made a note to ask about them.
Finding out they were made at Butler’s, and available for sale, I bought some the next time I was through Van Wert, and have stopped at least a couple times a year to pick some up each time I traveled to Van Wert, or was passing through to Michigan.
Unfortunately, as with so many things, Butler’s wouldn’t be here for forever, and there would come a day when I was passing through (or my parents were) and we’d find Butler’s closed.
Downtown Van Wert still has a lot of great amenities, not the least of which is their recently restored historic courthouse, but there’s one less downtown business providing its unique character to a unique downtown. And there’s one more former patron looking for a new source of life-changing noodles.

Comments

3 Responses to “The passage of a hometown bakery”
  1. Adam says:

    Frank, I am thrilled to be the first to tell you that the former Butler’s Bakery building was purchased, and a husband and wife duo are working to re-open the bakery later this spring, although with a new name. A little bird has told me that those life-changing noodles might just be back on the shelves by May…

    • John says:

      I can safely say that if the new owners end up making noodles, they probably won’t be the same. This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be good of course, or maybe even perhaps better. But, I know for a fact that recipes from the previous owner were not passed on to the new ones.

  2. frank says:

    Adam, You just made my day!