Precious Memories Bakery/Café, Ripley, offers tasty baked goods and treats

It’s no surprise that a bakery and cafe in a building that also houses a daycare is filled with lots of love, as well as homemade treats.

Precious Memories Bakery/Café may not be the largest in physical size, but it’s packed with a wide variety of baked goods, salads, sandwiches, and other tasty offerings.

Pat Kelly, who has owned and operated the daycare since 2004, said she is now surrounded by two of her greatest joys, children and food.

“I’ve always loved cooking and baking,” she says. “I come from a big family, so I like the atmosphere that a good meal brings.”

Kelly said she always wanted to open a restaurant. Just as she was starting to seriously think about doing just that, the health pandemic hit.

“I saw what was happening in other restaurants and I knew it was not the right time,” she said.

The timing may not have been right, but the dream is not dead. He just adjusted.

With the new company came new members to the team, including one who has worked with Kelly for 17 years.

Cinnamon Hall started daycare with Kelly when it opened and is now the manager. She’s also the kids’ and cafe’s cook and, in Kelly’s words, “the recipe provider.”

“Cinnamon prepares our daily specials in our daycare kitchen which is Health Department approved,” Kelly said. “We have a security door separating the bakery and the nursery.”

One of the advantages of being connected to the daycare is that there is no waste.

“If there are any leftovers, we give them to the kids,” Hall said with a laugh. “We fed them things they wouldn’t try at home, including vegetables.”

Kelly says the specials are “whatever we decide we want,” but there are always sandwiches and salads of all kinds. Tuesday offers a taco or burrito variation.

“We deconstruct them sometimes,” she said.

The other two team members are Mary Cottle and Heather Burnem.

Cottle, who is the manager of the bakery, has a few specialties. She’s known for her cinnamon rolls and adds a special twist to a West Virginia favorite, pepperoni rolls.

“First, I use cheese and lots of pepperoni,” she said. “But I cook my pepperoni before adding any. It’s one of my secrets.

A former restaurant owner, Burnem was more than happy to get back to the creative end of things.

“A lot of people probably remember me from Heather’s Simply Blessed Sweets & Eats,” she said. “I worked in other restaurants after closing this business. When Pat asked me to come and cook, I jumped at the chance.

Burnem creates specialty cakes, cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods. For a tiered cake, she needs two weeks notice, but for a regular style, 24 hours notice is enough.

“Her cupcake frosting is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted,” Kelly said. “I could eat it by the spoonful. She sold it by the pint in her old business. Our cupcakes change weekly, but we’ll post what we have available. »

Burnem can handle just about any design a client wants. A portfolio of his creations will soon be posted on the bakery’s Facebook page.

Precious Memories Bakery/Café wants to be different from most small town restaurants. Kelly would like to add sushi at some point, along with other non-traditional choices.

“There’s a chef coming in this spring from Florida to be closer to his family,” she said. “I would love to add him to the team. I have expansion plans if things go well.

The philosophy behind any cafe project is one that Kelly and Hall take to heart.

“A full belly is a happy belly,” Hall said. “That’s true for children and adults too.”

An added satisfaction is being able to bring something special to Jackson County.

“I love this area and sharing great food is one way to show it,” Kelly said.

Precious Memories Bakery/Café, located at 1112 Ripley Road, is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for pick-up or take-out only. Orders can be placed by calling 304-532-2560.