When Lauren and Peter McCourt opened three B's Bakery, they stepped out of careers in finance and energy and into a community niche that had so long needed filling three B's. Bakery named in honor of Lauren's three cats is a family effort all around Lauren, her husband and her sister, Kristen, make the pastries, watch the counter, and run a full business.
"I get to work with my family all day. You know, I get to be with them."
When you walk in off of Main Street, you'll see a picture of the cats. A family photo and beyond. The counter is an airy kitchen filled with light. Lauren takes me upstairs to an area that serves as her young daughter's playroom.
"My sister and a woman that we used to work with started a really small bake sale in Dallas and we would do it for charities and that, and I was in college. And so when I would come home for Christmas break, I would kind of jump in, and the three of us grew this thing that we were making like $20,000 in a day for charity with just the three of us basically doing what we do here."
And then when I moved out here and I was kind of changing my life around, I realized it was the only thing that I still really enjoyed doing and could see myself not getting bored or sick of.
Lauren tells me she isn't classically trained, so their recipes are collected from the baker's lives and then perfected in their kitchen. Sadie, the one non-family member, pulls inspiration from her grandmother's and mother's kitchens, so while they may not have taken the conventional pastry chef route, 3B's does have the lived experience and passion to produce a unique variety of baked goods.
"So Toffee is one of those flavors that for Sadie is like, that's like a home. And so when we were coming up with more cookies, I was like, why don't we just do something with toffee? Like it might get a little bit crisp. The texture might be weird, but like the, I think the thing we say most often is like, well, what else are we doing? And it's literally our job to sit here and try to come up with new stuff and delicious stuff. And now the toffee cookie is one of our most popular."
Lauren shows me a huge bin of gluten-free flour downstairs. Their kitchen is relatively small for a commercial operation, but 3 Bs can pull off a lot with what they have from vegan to gluten-free. But if they can't fulfill a customer's specific needs, they'll direct people to specialty shops.
It's about being a part of something bigger rather than trying to take everything for yourself. For Lauren, stepping into her own business means more time with family and being a part of the community. She says it wasn't always so friendly in the corporate world, but Carbondale offers something special.
"You know those big cities, I know where Peter comes from. It's like when you're talking to people, especially in the business world where he and I came from, there's always that little thing of like, what can you do for me? Maybe not today, but in the future, is there a way that you will be able to help me out?
And then the other person's thinking that too. So you're not even a bad person for it. Yeah. It's just the way that it works sometimes. And here it's just like, oh no, we just, our kids go to the same school. That's why you're talking to me."
The McCourts are approaching their first anniversary of the bakery opening, and although it hasn't even been a year, they already have regulars.
"It's like clockwork. Every Saturday I have a family that they go to the Smith for Breakfast and then they come in and Sasha can box up their order before they even walk in. You know, we can, we have those people that. Oh, that's the Lemon Bar lady. Oh, that's, he's the gluten-free guy that comes in."
With a new business and a toddler Lauren and Peter are very busy, but Lauren mentions that if it were easy, everyone would do it. And she's grateful that Carbondale had a place for them.
"There were a whole lot of people who were going that extra mile for me when I first got here and I really needed it. And then years later when I started this, there was a whole lot of people that sat down with me and helped me out and didn't ask me for anything in return. It's very much a pay it forward place in my life. And I'm lucky that I get to do it with something that tastes delicious. "
LJ: If you could give any advice to home Bakers just about like if their cake is falling flat or their cookie tastes weird.
LM: Oh gosh.
LJ: What's one of your favorite baking tips?
"The biggest thing, and I've said this a thousand times, and I'll say it again, is if you can read, you can bake, but it is not like cooking. You can't just, you know, throw stuff together. You know you have to follow the recipe, right? Mm-hmm. If you make it once and it gets screwed up, make it again exactly the same way because you probably messed something up."
Three Bs on Main Street. Carbondale is open Wednesday through Saturday
