HOMETOWN FAVORITES

I have always had a love for bread.  I grew up on 9th and Marietta Street, and walked to Baker Bread Bakery on 8th and South Street just to stop in and smell the baking bread.  Being in the pizza business, the first step is a good crust. Though, far from being a bakery, the pizza crust was made from scratch every day.  I opened the Old Market House Inn in 1974, and for 2 years I drove to Kennedy's Bakery in Cambridge, Ohio to get fresh bread for my customers. 

     Finally, I decided to have my own bakery, and that was the beginning of Giacomo's, which opened in 1994.  We wanted to sell bread, cookies, deli salads, sandwiches, and Italian grocery items. I soon found out the customers were mostly interested in the breads, sandwiches, salads, and cookies so we took out the grocery items to add more seating.

     At the pizzeria I had a baker, Herbert Cotterman, who, before coming to work for me, owned New System Bakery on Main Street. He would make the sub buns by hand, which were outstanding.  He gave me a lot of insight on baking. I came across a family owned Italian bakery in Bologna, Italy, and decided to send my baker there for 2 weeks to learn how to make Italian bread. She brought home some good recipes.

     Our bread is made fresh daily from scratch, and not from a frozen state.  The left over bread is donated daily to local organizations, such as Christ Table. We are very fortunate to be in the location where we are.  Every year we get better, thanks to our loyal customers.