Story and photos by Allison Law
Flavors Bakery, with its collection of vintage kitchen appliances, cookie tins and other decor, fits nicely in the historic warehouse in Cullman where it’s been for more than 12 years. For owner and baker Lisa Durcholz, collecting the antiques is one of her passions; “People will come in and say, ‘Oh, my mom had that,’ or ‘I had one of those.’”
The vintage pieces are a lovely complement to the decor, but what brings in the patrons are the sweet and savory goodies behind the glass cases and in cookie jars, which are fresh and made from scratch every day.
“I don’t do this because I’m making lots of money, because I’m not,” Durcholz says at the end of a long day at the bakery, which for her begins long before the sun comes up. “It’s here because I just love doing it.”
For Durcholz, a Cullman native, the historical downtown is the perfect spot for Flavors Bakery, which sits among boutiques and other retail businesses in this redeveloped area. The bakery gets many visitors who come to shop in the area and then stop in for a treat, but “we’ve had some people who like bakeries like I do,” she says. As they’re going down I-65, they look into whether there are any bakeries around. Of course there are the regulars who are local, who come in for a specific treat or cup of coffee.
“I love to see the little kids come in,” she says, though she’s been in business long enough now that the little ones aren’t so little. “Every once in a while, I’ll say, ‘how did you get so big?’”
Career move, back home
She was born and raised in Cullman, and after college ended up in Michigan, Tennessee and Indiana, where she met her husband. She worked in the information technology (IT) field, which she enjoyed, but after her husband died, she wanted to do something different. She decided to go to culinary school because she’d always loved to bake; she had lots of family still in Cullman, so she returned home to start a new career path.
“The bakery that had this space, she was vacating, so the timing was real good,” she says. “We just put it all together, and here we are, 12 years later. It’s just kind of a passion for me.”
She has four full time bakers and one part-timer, but at Flavors everybody does everything – baking, selling, running the cash register. “We have a real good crew.”
Like most cooks and bakers, Durcholz started with her grandmothers and mother, who all baked. Her mom is in her 80s and still spry and active, and lives just down the street from her. Her mom liked to bake pies, but Durcholz said cookies were easier for her.
The menu includes orange and cinnamon rolls (the orange is the most popular item they sell), plus muffins, cupcakes, cheesecake bars, pie bars and some savory items, such as a crustless quiche and a strata, sometimes referred to as a breakfast casserole.
It’s not a gluten free environment, but they can isolate the process to offer gluten free items. The bakery uses Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour for cupcakes and brownies, and they can also do some vegan items.
She’s occasionally asked about opening a second bakery, but that’s not even a consideration. “I wouldn’t even want to do two,” she says; as a bakery that does everything from scratch, it’s impossible to get the right consistency at another location. “There are places that take their recipes and make mixes out of them. When you have someone who has a franchise, that’s what they do.”
She’s happy here. “It’s a good place. IT was good, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do forever. … It was good when I had it, and I’m always thankful.”
Flavors Bakery
101 First Ave. NE, Suite 100
Cullman, AL 35055
256-615-2283
FlavorsBakery.com
Hours: Closed Sunday and Monday; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
