Brookey Bakes Both Sweet and Savory Treats in Ogden
The name, Brookey Bakes, tells you all you need to know about this Ogden shop that opened at 290 25th Street in July.
The owner is Brooke Barragan, and yes, she bakes. Her specialty is hand pies – small pastries, plump with local fruit and dusted with sparkling sugar crystals. You’ll also find cupcakes, and chewy cookies studded with chocolate chips or sprinkled with colorful “jimmies;” as well as savory mini-quiches and “Little Chicago” personal pizzas.
When she chose the name of her shop, “I didn’t love it, because I would rather not be the center of attention. But my husband and I thought that “Brookey Bakes” just rolls off the tongue.”
Barragan was an avid home baker who began a licensed business in her home kitchen a few years ago, taking orders on Instagram and Facebook. She contacted coffee shops, and now has her products in several local shops. She also partnered with Tagge’s Fruit Farm in Box Elder County. “We buy their fruit and they sell our hand pies at their stands.”
In three years, she outgrew her home business. “Having my own shop was always my dream, but it became a necessity. The kitchen was always hot, and there were pies everywhere.”
But she had issues getting a business loan, as the SBA (Small Business Association) funding had slowed. She started the loan process at a few different credit unions, “and then they would stop returning my calls.”
But, behold the power of social media. She shared her frustration in an Instagram post, and tagged the credit unions that had left her hanging.
“Within an hour, the executive of the SBA lending at America First called me,” Barragan said. “They had dropped the ball, but they wanted to take care of me. And they’ve been taking such good care of me ever since.”
Next came finding the right location, on the corner of Historic 25th Street and Grant.
“Actually, the location chose me,” Barragan said. “We had a place under contract, but it fell through. So I was feeling sad, driving down 25th Street on a gray winter day, and I looked and saw it there on the corner.”
According to the National Register of Historic Places plaque, the building was built around 1890-95, and was once the Creston Hotel and Grand Pacific Restaurant. More recently, it was the site of Making Scents Emporium.
The large windows let in lots of inviting light, and there are a few indoor and outdoor seats. Behind the display case, baker Bethany Disque is often busy mixing dough, and customers can watch the baking magic happen as they sit out front sipping coffee and nibbling treats.
When she opened the downtown shop, she hired Bethany to help with the baking.
“I’ve known her since she was in high school, and I knew she was a strong worker,” Barragan said. “She managed Jake’s Over the Top for years. I taught her my recipes and she’s been nothing short of amazing. She’s energetic, happy and positive.”
Hand pies are Barragan’s signature item, about the size and shape of a turnover. The difference, said Barragan, is that turnovers are made with pastry crust or filo dough, and hand pies are made from pie crust. They are filled with fresh local fruit when it’s in season — blackberry, cherry, strawberry, and rhubarb fillings in the summer; raspberry, peach and apple in fall, each for $4.
She also makes cream-filled hand pies, and savory ones filled with beef or chicken pot pie, also $4 each.
Barragan started exploring pie-making when making a birthday dessert for a friend who loves pie instead of cake. She often makes tiers of pies for birthdays and weddings, in addition to traditional birthday and wedding cakes.
“When people come in for wedding tastings, we let them know you don’t have to have a cake. You can do pies or brownies, or individual treats,” Barragan said.
Personal-size quiches — bacon and tomato, or veggie (all $4 each), are popular breakfast items.
Also on the savory side are “Little Chicagos” or individual Chicago-style pizzas ($4) , a nod to the city where Brooke grew up.
In the mornings, customers can usually count on two flavors of quiche, one or two flavors of savory hand pies, and one or two flavors of Little Chicago pizzas. They usually sell out of them by the end of the morning.
What gives her products cachet is that “We aren’t willing to skimp on ingredients to have a better bottom line.”
She uses Kerrygold high-fat butter, quality cake flour, and she swears by Utah-made Redmond Real Salt.
”I used to bake with grocery store butter, salt and vanilla, and I found that there’s a big difference,” she said.
She also bakes in small batches for quality control. “I don’t believe in scaling up,” she said.
Last week while heading to the Weber State University football game, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Barragan had set up a small baked goods stand on the walk from the Dee Events Center to the stadium. Unfortunately, outside food isn’t allowed in the stadium (and they check your bags to make sure. How do I know this? Trust me.). But, if you’re passing by, you could stop for a hand pie, keep walking, and have it eaten before you ever make it to the game. And by walking instead of taking the shuttle, you might burn off some of those calories. A win-win.
Location: 290 25th Street, Suite 103
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., adjusting to any 25th Street events
Prices: $2 most individual treats, $20 per dozen; $4 hand pies, or individual quiche or pizza; cakes and pies, $15-$55, more for special events.
Contact: 385-626-6585; https://www.brookeybakes.com