Business

Baker's Box moving across town, will expand menu

Baker’s Box co-owner George Nicholas, serving a Flat Rock Panini, plans to move the shop across town to Asheville Highway.

By MITSY JONES, Published: September 27, 2019

The Baker’s Box, which has won a loyal following for its takeout and catered food and custom-made special-occasion cakes, is moving across town to a much larger location that will enable the chef-owners to add dine-in seating and an expanded menu.

Specializing in homemade breads, sandwiches, cakes and pastries, Mara and George Nicholas have seen their small shop catch on since they opened four years ago, serving sandwiches, salads and box lunches, catering business meetings and other events and baking made-to-order wedding, birthday and other special occasion cakes. They also serve cookies, pies and pastries.
Both graduates of Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts, the couple will take their expanded offerings to the far more spacious building that last housed Iannucci’s Pizzeria’s, at 1508 Asheville Highway, by early November.
“We have outgrown our current location. It’s a great problem to have,” George Nicholas. “We really need a larger kitchen for our catering operation plus we want to offer the option to dine-in.”
The current location at 430 Kanuga Road isn’t large enough to accommodate dine-in seating or expand the kitchen.
Plans are to expand the menu to include George’s “greatest hits,” including gyros, a bigger variety of salads and vegetarian selections. They will also offer beer and wine and hope to provide music on the outdoor patio space in the warmer months.
Patrons will order at the counter, be seated and their food will be served. George and Mara are the only employees at their current location but plan to hire a staff of six or seven once they have relocated.
Mara will continue to provide made-from-scratch breads, pies, cakes and pastries using only high-quality ingredients. No mixes or pre-made doughs or fillings are used. All meats are locally sourced, seasoned and roasted in-house by George. Homemade bread and butter pickles are offered with every sandwich. All lettuce and vegetables, most purchased by local vendors, are washed and cut in-house.
The Nicholas’ found Western North Carolina when the Grove Park Inn recruited Mara in 1992. Their cooking pedigree includes stops at the Grand Hyatt and the Marriott Metro Center in Washington DC, the Bistro and Stable Café on the Biltmore Estate, Kenmure Country Club, Connestee Falls Country Club, Etowah Valley Country Club and the Esmeralda Inn. After many years of producing wedding cakes and farmers market vending out of a local professional kitchen, they opened the Baker’s Box in a small strip center on Busy Bend in November 2015. George and Mara are proud that, in four short years, they have outgrown their current space.
With the larger space, baking and pastry specialist Mara is hoping to grow their catering services.
“I have been doing traditional styled wedding cakes for over 22 years,” she said. “We believe that every cake, cupcake and dessert table reception is as unique as every bride.” The Baker’s Box also caters full buffets and plated menus and can customize a menu to suit any budget.

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The current hours are from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The couple plans to extend those hours at the new location. For more information visit thebakersboxshop.net or call 828-595-9963.