The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Elevating Grains Bakery will be opening for business Monday, August 28th. Going forward they will be open Monday to Friday at 6:30 AM. Their operating hours will be subject to daily traffic patterns and experimentation to see what works best. The bakery will primarily offer coffee drinks, with a more limited supply of baked goods.

Emily LePinnet, who owns and operates that bakery, explained the new approach to the business. “I’ll continue doing some baking throughout the week to fill custom orders for people. We’re gonna see how that goes. I’m gonna see if it can work. I would like to think that it could because I’d still like to be able to provide some level of service to the community and use the space. It’s a nice gathering space and it’s a pity to have it sit here not being used.”

In the months since the bakery closed it’s dining room, locals have enjoyed Elevating Grains’ pop-up days. Pop-up days involved opening the doors occasionally to sell beverages and a limited supply of baked goods. “It’ll be like a daily pop up like, I’ll announce in the morning. ‘Hey, I’ve got this in this today.’ And it’s first come first serve. That’s gonna be the best I can do. I have to kind of set some limits for myself because it’s my it’s my goal to make people happy and see people enjoy what I make, but I also can’t run myself into the ground do it. So if I can put up a couple batches of scones or a batch of cookies or something…” customers will have some options in the morning to go with their coffee. “I’d also like to try to get some breakfast things ready in the morning. It just kind of just depends on what the morning looks like.” Emily explained that additional food preparation will depend on traffic. If she is constantly running to make coffee and run the register, she won’t be able to make additional breakfast food. “I can’t physically make breakfast and run the cash register and make coffee.”

During the dining room hiatus, Elevating Grains has primarily filled baked good orders. That service will continue to be available. She will continue to fill orders as she is able. This service is a significant positive for the community, though Emily added the disclaimer: “I wish I could make everything people request. I’ve had a lot of people ask about cakes. I’m not a cake baker. I can make cake taste nice, but I’m not much of a decorator. So well you know, there’s a lot of expectations in the cake industry now and I can’t meet those. That’s not a skill set that I have and I’m okay with that. So if like people are okay with just accepting a rustic looking cake with frosting, that’s fine.” (As a customer who purchased a birthday cake from Elevating Grains for my wife, I can attest that it was delicious! —Erik)

Emily explains that the changes in the business model and the dining room hiatus are a result of the overwhelming response from the community. “I did preface this entire enterprise to the community with the notion that I’m going to see if this could work, because I didn’t know if it could and so far it hasn’t just because it worked so well that it did not work for me. It was not physically sustainable.”

She went on to explain that the beverage portion of the business accounted for a much larger percentage of the income than she initially expected, which is the main reason the coffee service will be a major focus of the bakery going forward. She will be offering a variety of options when she reopens.

Emily added: “If you’re interested in booking the space for a private events, reach out to me for details. If you want to have like a private party, birthday party, bridal party, a bridal shower, or something of that nature. She also pointed out that the occasional weekend pop-up day is within the realm of possibilities.

Going forward, Emily explained that the driving motive behind running the bakery in Big Sandy: “I care about providing food as an experience and a reason to gather together. That’s something that I was raised around and it’s part of who I am. I think that the world has enough processed junk. When you want to have a treat, or get together for a cup of coffee with a friend or something, it’s nice to have something that’s different and special and not like something that you just grab at the gas station.”