A Day in the Life of a Bartram House Baker

is an establishment unique to the area. Nestled among chain vendors such as  and , Bartram House is a rare breed of business that is not only surviving amongst the competitors, but thriving.

Owner and bakery originator Tim Warne credits his business's success to the place’s “from scratch” nature.

One of the creators of the “100 percent fresh” food is Colleen Graeser, a 20-year-old pastry chef and one of Bartram’s baking staff just out of Pittsburgh’s Le Cordon Bleu. 

Graeser started at Bartram House on an externship and was hired immediately after, which Graeser said is common for many of her peers who also work at the bakery.

When working with fresh ingredients Graeser said “you get used to it, and you learn it quick.”

Her day begins at 5 a.m. She arrives at Bartram House and immediately begins preparations—mixing the sugar decorations and icings that she will promptly use to decorate fresh fruit confections made an hour earlier that morning, along with the day’s bread. 

Twice a week, Graeser is up and working by 4 a.m., when the usual bread maker "has his days off."

At 6 a.m. cupcakes are baked, along with strudel and apple dumplings. According to Warne, everything yeast-risen not sold during the day is donated to the Washington City Mission.

By 7 a.m. the store has to be ready for the first wave of customers—the breakfast crowd. Graeser and the other bakers fill the front shelf displays as the treats come out of the oven. 

9 a.m. rolls around and the last to be prepared are the dessert bars. Brownies, blondies, s’mores and other bar variations are cut and sold alongside danishes, cookies and muffins.

Cakes cool and are cut for display. Custards and meringues are whipped, baked and set out or put in reserve for the afternoon shift of treats.

“We are constantly filling and refilling the front display, and everyone sets up the display a little differently,” said Graeser.

She is still moving at 10 a.m. Pie and tart shell dough is kneaded, cut, formed and filled. Any special orders for the afternoon are started and shortages of baked goods in the displays are taken into account.

“Our most popular (product), by far, are the ones with fresh fruit,” said Warne. “People see fresh fruit and really appreciate the care and the craftsmanship that goes into something like this.”

The lunch crowd, which can “wrap out the door and down the sidewalk,” according to Warne, starts to arrive around 11:30 a.m. Graeser may find herself assembling sandwiches while the day’s second or third lot of cold case-items like the fruit tarts and chocolate-dipped strawberries, which require a refrigerated display, are setting.

At 1 p.m. Graeser cleans her baking stations and equipment for tomorrow’s shift, “so the next person who comes in isn’t in trouble,” she said.

On particularly busy days, Graeser stays until 1:30 p.m., refilling the front display or helping her fellow bakers with special orders. 

“It’s really team-oriented here,” she said, “It’s really organized.

"Tim makes charts and we always have lists of what we need. But we’re flexible, and everyone helps out."

One would think that after a bustling day in the bakery, flour and sugar would be amongst the last things Graeser would want to touch. On the contrary, this professional goes home and continues to cook for herself, her family and her neighborhood.

“It’s an eight to 10-hour day (at the bakery), and then I go home and cook for two or three more hours," she said. "If someone is having a birthday or a neighbor is having a party, I’ll make a cake for them. I went to college for business, but then switched to study this, so I really love it. It’s very demanding, but very rewarding.”

Graeser’s grandmother, like Warne’s, baked and is credited for inspiration. 

“Bartram is actually my grandmother’s name,” said Warne. “We’re a family business, so we wanted to keep some part of the family in the name.”

For menu information and/or to place an order, visit the bakery's website.