The Landing Bakery

            I didn’t realize it when I lived up the hill from it, but the Landing Bakery is a National Treasure; one of the few food venues that I worked in which is still in business and relatively unchanged.  It was started in the late 50’s by a wonderful man named Henry who’d learned how to bake in the Old Country, and his rye bread, rolls, babka and coffee cakes were so perfect that when I first lived in Austin, I’d fill up a suitcase of goodies before heading home –you just couldn’t get bread like that in Austin. For those of you who are reading this wondering what about the layer cakes, the linzer tarts, the giant chocolate chip cookies? I kind of lost my taste for the sweeter stuff when I worked there- having to stack dozens of cookies will do that to you.

            Working at the Landing Bakery was, and probably still is, a rite of passage for girls growing up in the neighborhood known as The Landing.   I didn’t get around to it when I was in high school, but I did end up there after a trip to Europe when I was 22. I didn’t return to the States until I’d spent every last cent that I had, which meant that I was too broke to get back down to Austin right away and needed to find a job in my home town in a hurry.  The bakery was hiring and was in walking distance of my house, so I was glad to get the job.

            I worked the morning shift, which started really early; I’d walk over there in the dark. All of the baking was done by Henry, his son Kevin (who now runs the place), and a guy named Bob who did most of the cake decorating and the teasing of the counter girls. The Kerns had a couple of big dogs, and my favorite was named Fritz, a huge white Shepherd who’d walk me home most afternoons at the end of my shift. You had to keep an eye on Fritz in the bakery because he loved butter; I sometimes wondered if that’s why he was butter-colored.

            When you work in a neighborhood bakery, you really get to know your neighbors, and our regulars taught me how to say hello, goodbye and thank you in Polish, Greek, Czech, Russian and Serbo-Croatian. I learned all about stollen and other Christmas treats; I even helped with the gingerbread houses.

            After I’d saved up enough money, I quit and headed south, just as winter was beginning, as planned. To this day, however, given the opportunity, I will fill my car with Kevin’s  bread, rolls, coffee cake and babka. It’s how you honor a National Treasure.