Blue Tail Bakery Marks First Anniversary
By Emily Brewer
Carrboro’s scrumptious little pop-up bakery and caterer, Blue Tail, just celebrated its first anniversary on Saturday. A line out the door of its brick-and-mortar host on Weaver Street, Tesoro, attested to the bakery’s popularity. Regular customers and curious passersby sidled up to the table to survey the spread of loaves, cookies, sweet and savory scones, donuts, shortbread, pie, cake, cream puffs, buns, crackers, and more.
Owner and baker Maddie Pries, a Virginia native, sources whole grains from Lindley Mills and Red Tail and fruit and vegetables from local farmers’ markets. With friendliness and poise, she greets her customers, answers questions, boxes and bags up treats, and handles sales: a one-woman business that delights and nourishes the community.
When asked how she selected the name for her bakery, she cited both her long-time connection to the outdoors—she has a background in environmental education—and her hope that the bakery “would remind people of the natural world, because that’s where we get our food from.” Her inspiration for starting a bakery came during the pandemic, when she was working on a CSA vegetable and goat farm. “Never had I felt so close to the food-growing business.”
To celebrate the bakery’s birthday, Pries had baked a cornmeal lemon cake with vanilla custard and peach, plum, and ginger jam. “What? Yum!” one customer declared before ordering up a piece. “That’s my carbs for the month!”
“Carrboro’s already really small but running into customers I’ve met through the pop-up everywhere I go in town makes the town feel even smaller.” Pries said.
Based on the enthusiasm of the crowd that flowed in and out of Blue Tail Bakery on Saturday, Carrboro has embraced Pries and her vision for local-sourced, whole-grain baking.
Check out "bluetailbakes" on Instagram for information on pre-orders for Wednesday pick-up at The Arts Center, the catering arm of the business, and the Saturday morning selections.