WEST, Texas (KXXV) — “There was also a group, several groups of people that would meet here for coffee once a week and I was privileged to be part of that group," said the owner of The Village Bakery, Shelly Miller.
Shelly Miller went from joining a group at Village Bakery to now owning Village Bakery — the long-time West resident said the bakery that once held years of history in the West for decades closed.
“We literally would come in and sit down at the table and you get a Kolache and a free cup of coffee and you put a dollar bill on the table and that was it," Miller said.
Now, Miller is bringing back great memories for her and her neighbors.
Village Bakery closed about five years ago when the previous owner died — when the shop went on the market, Miller thought long and hard about buying the bakery, and she decided there wasn't much she wanted to change.
“It means a lot — it means tradition. What I’m hearing from people that contact me is that as children, they came with their grandparents," Miller said.
There’s one West resident who can attest to Miller's comment.
Allison Sulak who owns Joann's Bridal right next door to the Village Bakery is happy about the bakery reopening.
Since its closing, Sulak said the City of West lost something.
“I think it’s going to bring us back together as a whole for the community. I think downtown has felt empty and missing it honestly," Sulak said.
— this is what she means.
“Probably three to four times a week that door tries to get open next door from people that say they haven’t been here in 30 years," Sulak said.
With the store still getting loyal customers weekly, Miller plans to have the same Kolaches recipe her community once loved.
“I’ve had a lot of people say they want it to look just like it did back in the day," she said.
"They don’t want a lot of changes and of course, I have to bring it up to code and make it look fresh and new," said Miller.
