Franklin Bakehouse Opens

Franklin Bakehouse

Franklin Bakehouse, a European inspired bakery and market, located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Franklin, is officially open.

The bakery opened this past weekend and is planning to have a grand opening celebration September 26th.

The opening of Bakehouse is the culmination of 10 years of planning by Angie Muir and her husband, Bill. Angie grew up in the food business, being the daughter of a caterer, and both she and her brother followed in their mother’s footsteps. Cooking and the restaurant business are in her blood.

“I wanted to open a bakery/market that had a European feel in aesthetic and offered fresh baked bread, seasonal sandwiches and salads, pastries and prepared foods,” said Muir.

Bakehouse is part bakery and part bar, explained Muir, because what’s more European than fresh baked bread and wine. There is also a small market, and they offer fresh seasonal flowers for sale. Their Main Street entrance feels more like a bakery, while their First Avenue entrance feels more like a bar.

“We have a small six seat bar with an additional four window seats in our bar area,” said Muir. “We’ll pour craft beers and carefully selected California and Italian wines.”

During their soft opening beginning on Saturday, September 19, they offered light breakfast offerings and sandwiches for lunch. They are hoping to introduce their dinner options very soon.

“We will offer a variety of ever-changing offerings for breakfast, all very much intended to be lighter fare,” added Muir. “Both savory and sweet pastries, quiches, and the occasional breakfast sandwich. For lunch, we will serve sandwiches on fresh baked breads, grain salads, and soups. Our plan for dinner is ever-evolving. We will start with a daily prepared ‘grab and go’ option and hopefully grow into a daily ‘in house’ dinner offering.”

On soft opening day, they offered several choices of iced tea, one of which was a slightly sweet strawberry hibiscus, and several grab-and-go items, including fruit and yogurt. The savory “everything” biscuit with a slightly sweet scallion cream cheese was light and fluffy. And the blueberry muffin dusted in crunchy sugar crystals was perfectly crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Breakfast sandwich options included one with eggs, Irish cheddar, pancetta, basil butter, and Arugula on toast.

For lunch, they offer an assortment of European style sandwiches, including Italian panini with cured Italian meats, rosemary ham, provolone, roasted red peppers, and basil pesto mayo. The Parisian is made from imported rosemary ham and butter on a fresh house baked baguette.

The roasted beet and goat cheese salad is made from mixed greens, house roasted beets, crumbled goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, with or without chicken, served with house made mustard vinaigrette. Farro, arugula, shaved radish, cherry tomato, fresh parsley, fresh dill, shaved parmesan, and chopped pistachio with house made lemon vinaigrette make up the Bakehouse grain salad. It too can be ordered with or without chicken. Fresh-made pasta salad is also available.

One of the main reasons to go to Bakehouse is the bread: from their master recipe Leiper’s Fork Distillery Sour Mash and Whole Grain Sourdough, to the Smoked Jalapeno and Cheddar, to the Tennessee Sweetbread, to the Roasted Pepper and Tomato. Choices change daily. It is all great alone or as part of a sandwich. These are the creation of master baker Randy Thompson, owner of Franklin House of Bread. Thompson has been perfecting his slow-fermented artisan sourdough bread for five years.

“Our grand opening promises to be a great day,” exclaimed Muir.

Franklin Bakehouse
100 East Main Street
(615) 628-8493
franklinbakehouse.com
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.