My dear friend Lauren and I got together recently for some pizza and wine and admitted a dirty little secret…Once we were out with the truth that we love slinking down to Summer Avenue, we excitedly rattled off tons of shared honey holes that we love, situated just beyond our High Point neighborhood. Peppered among the pawn shops, mechanics and thrift stores, there lie so many establishments that we have both visited since our childhood and then several others that have piqued our interest in recent years along this unsightly avenue that we wanted to check out and report on. All in all, there is just too much to share in one post, so throughout the month on Wednesdays Lauren and I will bring you our Summer Avenue Selections starting with today’s: Sweet Treats. For many of you this could be a trip down memory lane and a reminder of the treasures that lie hidden beneath the street’s rough facade. We just might inspire other readers to take a walk on the wild side and try something new!
667 Avon Rd.
Don't Let Looks Fool You: Kay Bakery
Lore has it that an immigrant German family opened this bakery in 1932 on Jackson Ave. under a different name. The name was later changed to Kay when the original owner’s daughter married a man with that surname and it moved to Avon just off of Summer. It has had several owners since the Germans, including the Gibson’s Donut folks! Clearly under new management, I will warn you that the place looks like a DIVE and English is for sure their second language once again, but the treats are just as sweet today. Open every single day from 7am to 8pm they are always there when a sweet tooth strikes. I’ve been so pleased with all of the custom orders I have placed from sugar cookies and cakes to sweet little melt in your mouth petit fores decorated with pink booties for my friend’s baby shower! Their prices are very reasonable and they only require a 24 hour notice for custom orders. I hear their gingerbread men are divine as well.
Kay Bakery, under construction, but a divine dive.
Cases full of delicious
Gingerbread man
30! Cookies from Kay Bakery
4305 Summer Ave.
Roasting peanuts since 1959….and still kickin’! Seriously, if you ever have a craving for that oh so tasty combo of sweet and salty… take a stroll down memory lane and visit this little shop on Summer Avenue. Still Roasting peanuts on a roaster that was made in 1929, this shop is all business when it comes to their nuts..besides the classic slow roasted peanuts that they make daily, they also have about every other nut that your heart could desire: pistachios, cashews, pecans, almonds and some of my personal favorites which include the peanut caramel turtles, peanut brittle and chocolate covered pretzels. If that still does not win you over…they also sell candy, snow cones in over 60 flavors, and popcorn in regular, cheese and caramel flavors.
Hours:
Monday -Thursday 11:00 am -7:pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday 2:00pm-7:00 pm
Nuts galore at Peanut Shop!
That's sweet Greer -- she knows she is in for a treat at the Peanut Shop!
3205 Summer Avenue
If you have ever searched high and low for that perfect cookie cutter, just the right robins egg blue sprinkles for your cupcakes, or the Dora cupcake topper that your 2 year old just cannot give up, and come up empty handed, then I am delighted to share the best kept little secret on Summer Avenue with you. Just so you know, from the street it really does not impress (common theme here)…. However, as you step into this small little house, you step into a baker’s dream world. From cupcake toppers, cake molds, wedding cake decorations and any size dessert box you could ever imagine, to icings, cake fillings such as butter pecan, edible cake toppings and bags of chocolate, Mary Carter’s is a wonderland of sweetness. In all seriousness, if you are in need of any baking item and cannot find it here, I am pretty sure it doesn’t exist.
Mary Carter's on Summer
4091 Summer Avenue
If ice cream and all things fruity are right up your alley, welcome to this little piece of heaven. La Michoacana is a quaint little ice cream shop tucked away in a strip mall along Summer. I had heard about this place quite a bit and thought it was time to check it out…and believe me, this ice cream shop could be the next best thing since sliced bread! From the homemade Paletas, which are fruit and cream bars that include such tasty flavors as Cookies and Cream, Dolce Leche (Mexican caramel), Coconut, Rum and Raisins, Pine Nuts and Kiwi Strawberry to the creamiest ice cream you will literally ever taste (I could have eaten the entire bucket), this place is the real deal! The flavors of the ice cream vary from day to day but the customer favorites are Pine Nuts, Key Lime Pie and Germany which consists of coconuts, almonds, pecan, dolche leche and Mexican vanilla. They also have fresh fruit drinks, banana splits that are out of this world and sour fruit treats that pack quite a kick. If you are not already walking out the door to try La Michoacana, then I will add one more thing: they also have nachos and Mexican corn!
Paletas or Popsicles...However you say it, they look delicious!
Another sweet spot along Summer: Howard’s Donuts.
You know you love them...
