The Astoria Shop Offers Baked Goods, Take-Out Cookie Dough | coastal life
Charles E. Hill
2 min read
Stroll through downtown Astoria along the south side of the Columbia River and you’ll have the opportunity to indulge in craft beer, wine, ice cream, crab or chowder. And since last December, at the corner of 11th Street, specialty bakery Kim’s Dough2Go has been transforming the Riverwalk into a cookie walk.
In addition to its classic “take and bake” cookie dough, the eggless, no-bake, and safe cookie dough is also a customer favorite.
The shop also offers a rotating line of cookies, scones, bagels and muffins. “That way people can know what the dough looks like before they buy it,” owner Kimberly Barrows said. She will also make custom cookie orders for those who call ahead. And before leaving, customers can have a cup of coffee on a table in the corner.
Life is what you make it for Barrows. The longtime Astoria resident and corrections deputy with the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years started decorating cookies a year ago as a hobby. As retirement approached, she baked cookies for herself and, she said, “for anyone who ate them.”
Then, with the pandemic disrupting supply chains left and right, Barrows found it difficult to stock up on cookies. “So I thought,” she said, “why not have a store where you can get cookie-making supplies.”
And just like that, Kim’s Dough2Go was born.
Barrows feels lucky to have landed there on the Riverwalk. Although friends encouraged her to start a cookie food truck, her vision was different. “And that’s it,” she says, gesturing to the cozy space of her storefront furnished and decorated in farmhouse chic style. “I have pastries, I have coffee, I’m on the river and I do my own hours. What more could you ask for?”
Above all, Barrows is having fun. Working at the prison for so long, she says, “you forget that there are nice people there. People come here and they’re just happy. It’s just nice to see that.
The fact that the store receives the most foot traffic on sunny days helps. More so, says Barrows, “Cookies are fun and they make people smile. Who is not happy when they receive a cookie? »
