Best of: Eats: Bakery

City Bakery

City Bakery has been turning out spectacular baked goods since 1999, back when competition wasn't quite so tough in this town. More than a decade later, and with stiff competition to boot, City Bakery still rises above the rest (pun completely intended), according to Xpress readers.
A consistently good product is the secret to any establishment's success, which sounds as obvious as saying the team with the most points wins. However, serving dependably great baked goods (and soups, salads and sandwiches, for that matter) day in and day out isn't easy.
To that end, City Bakery general manager Brian Dennehy says that the bakery owes its repeated top honors to its hardworking employees. "We just have a really skilled and devoted staff. The bread and the pastry thing is a lot of hard work."
A lot of hard work, he adds, that takes place in less-than-ideal conditions. "It's really hot back there and it's a lot of physical labor. It's not as glamorous as some people might think."
Dennehy also gives a nod to the support of the WNC community, which seems determined to eschew Wonder Bread in favor of the real deal. "We'd like to thank all of our customers who come into the café," he says, "as well as all of the great restaurants and grocery stores that buy our bread wholesale."

— Mackensy Lunsford