Kindergarten besties open bakery in Mifflinburg
Apr. 22—MIFFLINBURG — A friendship that began in Kindergarten in Mifflinburg has grown into not only a lifetime friendship but also a thriving 6-month-old business, appropriately called Our Best Friends Bakery.
The idea for starting a bakery is not new, said Melissa Hunt, of her business partner, Bethany Oldt. "We've thought about it for as long as we've been friends. For a while, I was living in Texas and Bethany was in Waterville, and after marriage, we both ended up back in Union County."
Hunt and Oldt are both self-taught bakers, "mostly by our grandmothers," Hunt explained. "And we are both heavily influenced by them in terms of our baking style. She had been baking for friends and families for parties through the years. I began doing the same."
In Spring, Texas — north of Houston — Hunt opened a cottage bakery for about four years until she returned to Mifflinburg in the summer of 2023. That's when the plan for starting a bakery in their hometown became a reality.
"We started converting part of my two-car garage into a bakery," Hunt said. "We demolished stuff, we rebuilt and got set up. We were inspected in October and we've been in business ever since."
"Our husbands helped out with fixing up the space," Oldt added, with a laugh. "A honey-do-list."
Our Best Friends Bakery offers take outs, but is not yet a sit-down space.
"We mostly have been operating on a made-to-order basis," Hunt said. It was the beginning of March when the business started having retail hours where people could come in and buy baked goods.
"We are working on having an expansion area where we can highlight other small businesses," Hunt said.
Oldt and Hunt agreed that they have learned a lot since opening their business. For one thing, they have learned the difference between just baking for friends and doing birthday parties versus having traffic and new customers.
"We do a lot of events," Oldt said. "And we want to ensure that we can diversify what we bake when we go out. What we bake for events versus what we offer at the bakery. We have learned how to build partnerships as well."
They do the biscuits for the East Side Diner, their next-door neighbor. They also partner with local coffee shops.
"People love our sticky buns," Oldt said. Other popular items are muffins, cookies, and made-to-order cakes.
"Bethany and I have learned to work together in a pretty busy space," Hunt said. "That's been an easy transition."
Hours are by appointment only at 8693 Old Turnpike Road (Route 45). The phone number is 570-597-2383.
A menu of available products, and available custom cake orders is posted on their website: ourbestfriendsbakery.com.
