Our sincere thanks to you, our community, for helping make all those fun Arnold Block pop-up shops — holiday markets, candy shops, bakeries, toy shops — so successful!
The support you’ve given to these cooks, artists, and makers has helped many of them attain a level of success that allows them to continue their art and support themselves while doing that. Many of our pop-up participants are now selling their wares regularly at area farmers markets and online and are happy being their own bosses while doing what they love.
The newest entrepreneur alum of the Arnold Block pop-ups is Bethel’s own Ann Fuller, and she has a BIG surprise cooking: Ann will be opening HailBrook’s Broken Stove Bakery, a bakery café, in the Arnold Block this fall!
Everyone loves Ann’s baking. She’s been making cakes and other sweets as special orders for a while now, and she’ll still offer that service in addition to selling breakfast treats, coffee, and tea daily.
You might know Ann from her work at the White River School cafeteria, a position she left at the end of last year in order to launch the bakery. Ann has lived in Bethel since 2007, and she and her partner of thirteen years have two daughters in Bethel’s elementary school. In fact, the name she’s chosen for her brand-new business, HailBrook, is a combination of her daughters’ names, Hailey and Brooklyn. One night last year when she was thinking about what to call the business, she thought with frustration about her home stove, which was broken and keeping her from doing what she loves — baking. HailBrook’s Broken Stove Bakery was born!
Ann grew up in a restaurant family. Her maternal great grandfather — from Collepietro, Italy — opened an Italian restaurant in her home state of Ohio in 1945. Ann is the fourth generation to work in the family business. As a kid, she’d help her grandmother make pasta, pizza, garlic bread, and more. Ann’s father worked in a grocery-store bakery when he was in high school, so that might be where her passion for sweet treats came from; it’s hard to pinpoint.
Ann started baking when her grandmother decided to sell desserts at the Italian festival that would be right outside the restaurant. Ann asked if she could do the baking, something she’d never done before, and Grandma agreed. So Ann made giant, shareable cupcakes — limoncello, tiramisu, espresso, and cappuccino. They sold out on the very first day. Normally, though, Ann would do various jobs in the restaurant, slicing meats and cheeses, waiting tables, jumping in to do whatever needed to be done. Baking professionally was moved to the back burner.
When she was ready to start a bakery, Ann was met with overwhelming support from both her Ohio community and her community here in Bethel. HailBrook will get under way with some legacy tools Ann received from family as well as various others she bought brand new. Now they are all waiting for that first taste of sugar, flour, and spice.
And Ann has delicious plans: Daily offerings will include muffins; cupcakes; cookies; sweet breads; cakes, whole and by the slice; croissants, plain and filled; focaccia with different toppings; and rolls and rustic loaves. She will also offer gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and vegan options — made with great care to avoid cross-contamination — as well as coffee and tea with alternative milks and sweeteners.
There will be limited seating, just a couple of small tables to start. Baked goods and drinks will be mainly to-go for now; she’ll consider expanding the seating and the menu once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Look for special pricing for multiples of breakfast treats and cookies. Special orders will be welcome, but they will require 72 hours’ advance ordering.
The buzz is building in Bethel: The grand opening of HailBrook’s Broken Stove Bakery will be on Saturday, Oct. 2 (the day of Forward Fest!), from 10 am to 2 pm. Regular hours, which will start on Monday, Oct. 4, will be Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm, and Monday through Thursday, 6 am to 4 pm. Watch Facebook (@arnoldblockvt and @hailbrooksbrokenstovebakery), Instagram (#arnoldblockvt and #hailbrooksbrokenstove), and the Arnold Block chalkboard for breaking news!
This is big news, Bethel! It’s been ages since we’ve had regular access to a wide variety of homemade, from-scratch baked goods in town. Soon we’ll be able to pick up a beautiful cake for a party, grab a bag of homemade cookies to share with kids or coworkers, or indulge in fluffy cinnamon buns for a weekend brunch anytime! Keep an eye open for updates -- and the date for the soft opening. Shop local! Stop in at HailBrook’s Broken Stove Bakery soon!