Owners Leon and Dorinda Oswalt
M A D E F R O M S C R AT C H
O swalt Fam i l y B a ker y & C a fe S e rve s D e lic io u s H o me - Ba ke d G oods café. The goal was to add more variety and make the business have a more year-round and broader appeal to customers.
Writer / Lois Tomaszewski Photographer / Timothy Hare
Walking into Oswalt Family Bakery and Café is a lot like walking into Grandma’s house on any holiday. There’s the fragrance of home-baked goods in the air, sounds of food preparation in the kitchen and someone to greet you with a friendly and welcoming smile. Owners Leon and Dorinda Oswalt purchased the business in September 2019. The donut shop had been for sale for a couple of years before the Oswalts, who were frequent visitors to the area, bought it. They were looking for a business Dorinda could run while Leon was on the road as a truck driver.
The bakery cabinet features a variety of baked goods, from cupcakes to donuts to caramel rolls. The café features weekday specials and has become well-known for its pork tenderloin, hamburgers and breakfasts, such as the giant caramel rolls, made-from-scratch biscuits and sausage gravy and the big breakfast bowl. According to business partner and marketing manager Kris Underwood, the fresh ingredients and lack of frozen foods makes a difference in the guest experience.
“Tenderloins, burgers and breakfast are the three big kickers for us,” he says “We’ve had people drive from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois In October 2019, the business expanded from just a donut shop to a to eat here, especially for the tenderloins. Everything is homemade 14 / THE LAKES / JUNE 2021 / TownePost.com
