On May 3, Carbondale’s First Friday Block Party welcomed a new family-owned small business to Main Street that will surely excite those with a sweet tooth. 3 B’s Bakery, run by Lauren Poleski McCourt and her husband, Peter, opened its doors to the public after four years of preparation: securing a spot, working out a plan, finalizing staff and deciding on menu staples. One factor that delayed the opening, Lauren shared, was the arrival of their daughter, Mable.
Some menu staples include classics like chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, brownies, blondies, cheesecake bars, assorted cupcakes, muffins and specialty cakes and sweets for any occasion upon request.
The business name was inspired by the family’s cats, Beauchevious, Braylie and Barnaby, depicted in a cartoon portrait on a shop shelf. Lauren has been baking since her early 20s, when she started participating in charity bake sales with her sister and friend back in Texas, her home state. After getting involved in these charity events that raise tens of thousands of dollars, the idea of having her own bakery was planted.
When asked what the secret to her skill is, Lauren mentioned her satisfaction whenever a recipe comes together.
“I’m a firm believer that if you can read, you can bake. There is really no secret to it. I have always been a math person; I like to have a thing that I need to do and do it correctly. It’s just so meditative to me because once I’ve completed something, I get this feeling of ‘oh, I did it,’” Lauren stated.
The family has lived in the Valley for about seven years, having moved here in 2017. Lauren comes from the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Peter is from northern New Jersey. The two met on Lauren’s first day at the Carbondale Rodeo and they subsequently fell in love. After welcoming their daughter into the world and after Peter left his other job to pursue this adventure with his wife, they are excited to see their labor of love come to fruition.
“Moving out here saved my life in a lot of ways,” Lauren stated, “and I’m excited to give back to [the community] … to make my little footprint on Carbondale.”
The building process for the bakery took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after that dissipated, Lauren was deeply involved with the collaboration between her husband and contractors to finalize plans. Meanwhile, being a stay-at-home parent for the first year of her daughter’s life was conducive to her creative process.
“I’ve been able to play with recipes for four years, work out kinks and learn to be creative,” she said. “Sometimes in baking, the creativity gets lost in the perfection, but being able to meld those together and give myself the space to do so has been rewarding,” she stated.
Part of her challenge involved learning to perfect her recipes at a high altitude and changing things to accommodate those with gluten sensitivities and intolerances.
“For the last couple of years, I’ve been able to make each and every one of my recipes gluten-free if I want to. My sister-in-law and a friend of mine are both gluten-free, and I had never baked gluten-free before diving into this, so it was fun to have them there suggesting what I could make,” Lauren said.
3 B’s Bakery is now open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm at 234 Main Street. For more information, call 970-340-9340 or visit www.3bsbakery.com