New Collinsville family bakery offers warm goodies, breakfast items and beautiful tulips
A sweet little family bakery recently opened in Collinsville.
Azúcar, Old City Bakery, located at 410 Beltline Road, opened on Friday, March 17, at the former Yummy Donut Palace.
The bakery is owned and operated by Jeanetta Mitchem and her daughters, Brooke Romero and Morgan Hurtado.
When I visited the bakery, they had just been open for a month.
So I asked how things were going in that short time.
“It’s going good,” said Mitchem.
Cutting to the chase, what’s on the menu?
Mitchem said they make cakes, cookies, banana pudding, peanut butter squares and tres leches cakes.
They also offer different kinds of donuts (they had old fashioneds!), biscuits and gravy, mini pancakes, cupcakes and the occasional danishes and cinnamon rolls.
Follow the bakery’s Facebook page for any off-menu goodies that might be available.
She also mentioned a “kitchen sink cookie,” which got my attention because I had no idea what that is. It’s a chocolate chip cookie with caramel chips, pretzels and sea salt added to it.
Sounds pretty good, if you ask me.
Azúcar (which is Spanish for “sugar”) also offers Mexican sweet breads from Lilly’s Panaderia on Cherokee Street in St. Louis.
Coming soon are eight to 10 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, just in time for the warmer weather.
Available beverages include horchata, boba teas and regular coffee.
They don’t offer fancy coffee drinks. With the construction of a Starbucks nextdoor and a Scooter’s Coffee down the street, Mitchem said she wasn’t even going to try to compete with that.
I don’t blame her.
The kitchen is modest (yes, I mean small). But that isn’t always a bad thing.
It’s a great way to learn to be efficient and to clean as you cook. (Or is that just me with my small kitchen at home?)
Mitchem said that if all goes well, they could outgrow it in the two years they have on their lease.
The bakery’s customer area is a cozy space. Aside from the display case, there are tables for customers to sit and enjoy their confectionary treats.
Plus, the place has a drive-thru, which Mitchem considers a plus for the small building.
In addition to the baked yummies, customers can also purchase freshly cut and arranged homegrown flowers from Jypsy Hill Flowers.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such beautiful tulips. And I’m a member of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Business and baked goods
Mitchem describes herself as a “serial entrepreneur.”
She also owns a commercial cleaning company that focuses on offices, doctors offices and new construction, including new homes.
So she definitely has the business skills covered.
This latest endeavor came about after she spent the last seven years – off and on – baking cakes at home.
Mitchem said she’s always had corporate jobs and wanted to get out of it. So she gave making cakes a try.
“She’s good at everything she tries,” Romero said of Mitchem.
Romero is a stay-at-home mom, and Hurtado works as a dog groomer.
The three women wanted to try working together, and be able to bring the kids.
So we came up with this, said Mitchem.
After a couple of months of baking cakes, she left her corporate job to go all in with the bakery.
Mitchem said part of the reason she’s doing this is to teach her daughters to develop a mindset for business.
Working for yourself is more work but more satisfying, she said.
“The best part of it,” Mitchem said, is that she and her daughters get to work as a family.
About Azúcar, Old City Bakery
Azúcar, Old City Bakery is located at 410 Beltline Road in Collinsville.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. They are closed Monday-Tuesday.
For more information about Azúcar, Old City Bakery, call 618-223-1322 or visit the Facebook page.
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