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The Store — It’s Not Just the Cookies and Muffins, It’s the Kindness
This small-town bakery and deli makes locals feel like they’re insiders to a secret
“Would you like to meet at The Store for lunch?”
A simple enough request, but “The Store” is said with a certain gravitas in one’s voice, an unmistakable emphasis to clearly convey the meeting place. Any local resident of our town understands the meaning and starts salivating at the thought.
In this small town, Anacortes, in northwest Washington, approximately one million cars pass through every year on their way to the Washington State ferries that sail to the San Juan Islands. From the interstate, they drive twenty-five minutes before entering our town. As they turn up the main street, most don’t realize they’re passing just two hundred feet from a heartwarming, gut-pleasing bakery and deli experience; if only they’d turned left instead of right at the roundabout.
There are no signs pointing the way. No neon lights illuminating the entrance. If the handful of parking spots out front are taken, the gravel lot across the street handles overflow. Bicycles park under the eaves, no locks securing them. The blue post office drop box at one end is a ready excuse to stop here.
