By Sara Bedigian
Contributing Writer
GRAFTON – When Chuck Brown bought a 50-pound bag of flour during the COVID-19 pandemic, he had no idea it would come with a new identity: the bread guy.
A former school principal, 62-year-old Brown retired during the pandemic and, like many others cooped up in their homes, decided to start making bread. Eventually, word got out on Facebook, and soon enough, Brown’s hobby became a business.
Started at home
For nearly three years, he ran a cottage industry out of his house – baking different breads, delivering them to customers, and bringing his products to local farmers markets. What started as a hobby blossomed into a second career. A career focused on making people happy.
Photo/Sara Bedigian
“Our motto is great bread equals great happiness,” Brown told the Fifty Plus Advocate. “And we actually live that all the time. Everything we do is focused on making people happy.”
Good bread requires the right ingredients, love, and early wake-ups. Brown begins his morning at around 3 a.m. to start baking the day’s bread and pastries. When preparing for a big weekend or a farmers market, his day starts at midnight or 1 a.m.
Making the starter, waiting for the dough to rise, baking it in the oven – it’s all a very delicate and time-consuming process. But the finished product is worth it, said Brown. Bread Guy Breads sells anywhere from 150 to 200 loaves each week. The most popular item is always the classic sourdough bread, according to Brown.
Array of choices
But there’s never a shortage of choices at Bread Guy Breads, which now operates a retail location at 204 Worcester Street. There are always new bread flavors, like a rosemary chive bread offered on the weekends, and Brown has ventured into other items like English muffins.
With the endless array of options – from cranberry walnut to cheddar garlic – it can be hard to decide which bread to buy. Some are great for sandwiches, while others are better for toast.
So, he’s become a sommelier of sorts. He enjoys helping people find the perfect loaf.
“[Someone] will come in and say, we’re having beef stew, what should I have? And we can all make recommendations on what bread – it’s like wine,” Brown said.
While the bakery is known for its breads, other items like muffins, scones, and croissants also fill the display cases, allowing customers to grab a sweet treat when they pick up their weekly loaf. In a couple of weeks, coffee will be added to the menu.
Brown started offering a sourdough-based cheese pizza, which may become a menu fixture if enough interest is shown. From different bread flavors to new menu items, Brown said he gets most of his inspiration through collaboration with his staff.
Building a community
And the goal of making people happy through bread has never been forgotten. A community has formed around Bread Guy Breads, with plenty of regulars who come in each week. He enjoys each interaction with them.
“It is the best bread place ever,” a regular customer told the Fifty Plus Advocate. She goes into the shop at least three times a week to purchase bread and other pastries – the creme danish being her favorite. “[Chuck] is amazing with customers and remembers our orders.”
But Brown took it a step further. His business provides valuable experience to local students.
As news spread that there was a new “bread guy” in town, Brown was approached by the Grafton Public Schools. Brown formed a partnership with Grafton Achieving Independence Now (GAIN), the district’s post-graduation program which helps 18- to 22-year-old students with special needs develop life skills via on-the-job training.
Brown’s Worcester Street bakery includes the storefront, kitchen, and a conjoining door to the GAIN Program. At Bread Guy Breads, students work with Brown to strengthen their retail and kitchen skills, whether it be doing prep work for making the bread, assembling boxes, or running the front desk.
Kelli Derosiers, the vocational coordinator of GAIN, said GAIN’s main objective is to focus on helping each student learn the skills they need to get a job at an outside organization.
“It is a good partnership,” Derosiers said. “They’re getting the best of both worlds.”
Brown said he wouldn’t be able to run the bakery without his staff of nine that works in three shifts: the ones that make the dough from midnight until 5 a.m., the bakers at 4:30 a.m. who make muffins and pastries, and his last shift that works during business hours.
Since all the baking happens on-site, the smell of fresh, delicious bread and the sweet aroma of baked goods can be found when walking into the store. The store is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The shop can be found at the Grafton Farmers Market from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Wednesday this summer.
More information can be found on the company’s website https://breadguybreads.com/ .
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