Walk into the Brown Hound Bakery – all chocolate brown and deep blue walls, vintage plates and sugar bowls and exclusive art from New York artist John Derian – and you feel as if you should be in a hip American city instead of a retail park in a housing estate in Drogheda.
Owners Jeni Glasgow and Reuven Diaz, who also own the Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill just a few shops down, have brought their sense of style and flair to the bakery when it comes to the decor as well as the food.
The recipes come from their friend and collaborator Craig Thompson, a baker in New York, so it's no surprise that many of the goods have an American feel to them, from the lattice crust pies to the honey roasted peanut butter cookies and pumpkin doughnuts.
The treats on offer include cupcakes, biscuits, seasonal shortbreads, pecan bars, chocolate banana bread, doughnuts, rustic galettes, buttermilk biscuits and cakes, including their signature Brown Hound cake crowned with a dramatic cloud of torched maple meringue.
They also do a range of sandwiches, including a new breakfast sandwich: omelette, smoky bacon and tomato relish on a Parmesan chive scone.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the bakery gets a new lease on life when it becomes The Swine Bar, where you can have a quiet glass of wine and small nibbles like charcuterie at candlelit tables.
The Brown Hound Bakery has become a foodie destination and has put Drogheda on the map, with people making special trips from Dublin or Newry to eat at the Eastern Seaboard and then stock up on bakery treats afterwards.
It's hard not to envy the lucky locals who have this gem on their doorstep.
