Since 1912, Barbour's Bakery has been your hometown bakery. We pride ourselves on our fresh baked goods, made with no preservatives. Come in for a dozen fresh rolls for just $4, or a loaf of white bread for a mere $3. And don't forget our World Famous Barbour's Cinnamon Bun!
At 55 Salem Ave. stands one of the oldest family-owned bakeries in the area. Barbour’s Bakery has been in business since 1912, quietly churning out cookies, breads, cakes and cinnamon buns. “My grandmother was the oldest of eight sisters,” Janet Price, the owner, says. “She started the bakery when she lived in Childs.” Mary Walker Barbour and her husband used to run a boarding house in Childs. Shortly after Mr. Barbour died in a mining accident, several of his co-workers built a large anthracite oven for Mrs. Barbour so she could continue baking homemade bread and rolls for them. “The business grew from there, and she eventually moved to River Street in Carbondale,” Mrs. Price says.
Paul Moffitt, of Carbondale, a lifetime customer, remembers when his family lived on Hudson Street. Mrs. Price’s uncle, Gerry Barbour, delivered bread to grocery stores close to Mr. Moffitt’s home. “He would deliver to the old LeDonne and the old Bonacci grocery stores,” Mr. Moffitt says. “We used to look for the truck coming because he would give us cookies.
”In 1919, Mrs. Barbour relocated and a large oven was purchased and assembled in the new location at 22 River St. Business boomed and a second bakery opened on Church Street. In the 1930s, the bakery moved to its present location on Salem Avenue. Mrs. Price’s mother, Frances Barbour Nally, ran the business until the mid-1970s, when she retired. Mrs. Price knows almost every customer by name. Steve Durkin, executive director of the Greater Carbondale YMCA, smiles broadly as he walks in and greets her. “Everything here is great,” Mr. Durkin says. “I’ve been coming here for at least 40 years, and I can tell you the glazed doughnuts, brownies and cookies are the best.”
Competition from large supermarkets has put many smaller bakeries out of business in recent years. But not Barbour’s. Although the equipment is a little outdated, Mrs. Price says the recipes, the same her grandmother used, remain the same. With approximately 20 wholesale customers, including local restaurants, Mrs. Price hopes the business will continue to grow and eventually hopes one of her eight grandchildren will take over.
“Carbondale is coming back,” Mrs. Price says. “I would really like to see us start selling coffee and get a few tables in here for people to relax, we also have a lot of customers who ship our cookies, pastries and cakes out of the state for friends and family.
“It would be a great honor to my grandmother, mother and uncle if we kept it going,” she says.
Contact the writer: ddestefano@timesshamrock.com
©The Times-Tribune 2006
Breads
Cinnamon Raisin
Irish Soda
Nut
Raisin
Rye
Vienna
White
Whole Wheat
Rolls
Dinner
Sandwich
Hot Dog Buns
Kaiser
Hard
Apple
Apple Crumb
Blueberry
Cherry
Lemon Meringue
Chocolate Cream
Coconut Cream
Our pies are available
in the following sizes:
Small
Medium
Large
7-inch, 2-layer | serves: 6-10
9-inch, 2-layer | serves: 10-15
Quarter-sheet | serves: 15
Half-sheet | serves: 25-30
Full-sheet | serves: 60-70
Wedding Cakes
Custom Cakes
Fruit Cakes
Cupcakes
Chocolate
White
Seasonal
Decorated
Muffins
Chocolate Chip
Blueberry
Bran
Cranberry
Walnut
Stars
Lafayettes
Brownies
Cookies
Wedding Cakes
Gift Baskets
Seasonal Items
Wholesale Discounts to Caterers and Restaurants
Special Occasions
Chocoholic Frolic is not an event without the vendors and we are so grateful for the very, very sweet contribution you made. The Barbour's Bakery team is so special and I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and thoughtfulness to support the event. Congratulations on being the winner!! Barbour's will be getting the benefits of a sponsoring the event which offers publicity on TV, billboards and in the newspaper.
I can only guess how much work and expense goes into coming out for it. My guess is that it is a huge commitment of time, energy and expense. PLEASE know how appreciative we are to you! Also, know that UNC serves over 200 people a week to learn to read and write. Literacy dramatically changes their lives and the stories we can tell would deeply touch you. Your time, effort and gift is truly changing lives and for a worthwhile cause for people we call our neighbors. It looks like the event raised over $14,000.
Thank you, thank you for coming out and making the 11th annual a huge success. I would welcome any comments you have to make it better for you or make it a better event. Please do not hesitate to email back any pluses or minuses that can improve the event.
You deserve the sweetest of thanks and I hope these words are expressing it!
— Mary Carroll Donahoe
I've been coming to Barbour's for over 20 years, and visited again today, receiving the same great product and service as always. The brownies and the linzer cookies are irresistible! I had my wedding cake (banana!) from Barbour's and it was both beautiful and delicious. Thanks, Janet and crew for showing us what family business is all about.
— Shannon Phillips (via Facebook)
Wow....the best deep dish apple pie I've ever had. ...next time the cherry :-)
— Ronald S. Wendell (via Facebook)
Excellent service. They made me a half sheet birthday cake on very short notice. Was delicious and a beautiful cake. Highly recommend this place! Will definitely be using them from here on out!
— Bryan B. (via Yelp)
Love their Pizza !!!!!!!...and ALL their Baked Goods...Yummy for the Tummy !!!!!!!
— Steve Dombrosky (via Facebook)
Mmmmmmm—cinnamon buns hot 'n fresh on a Sunday morning. Remember my dad stopping in when we were kids after church.
— Rob Rinaldi (via Facebook)
Eye of the Storm
Janet Price (left), owner of Barbour’s Bakery, recently invited Carbondale News ‘Eye of the Storm’ writer a taste of the shop’s frosted blueberry ring, hot out of the oven.
By Bob Storm
To celebrate 100 years is a remarkable feat, especially if you are a small town bakery.
So what is the secret to the remarkable and enduring success of Barbour's Bakery?
The secret is three generations of strong, hard working, savvy local women who have old world recipes that satisfy that sweet tooth so many of us have. Current owner Janet Price is the third generation owner of Barbour's Bakery, located at 55 Salem Ave. in Carbondale.
To talk with Janet is to feel the pride she has for her ancestors' accomplishments. She tells of how Barbours began in 1912 in Childs. At that time, bread was the mainstay of that young bakery, and it was delivered by trolley. When the local railroad was under construction, some of the workers built an outdoor oven for Mary Walker Barbour (Janet's grandmother) from extra bricks they had on site. And at that time wood and coal were used to heat her oven. A few years later, a horse and buggy were purchased, and in 1919 the bakery moved to River St. in Carbondale with its store front on Church St. Then in the early 1930's it moved to its present location, recently renovated just in time for the centennial.
Janet tells a wonderful story of how, during World War II, sugar was strictly rationed, causing many bakeries to close. However, her savvy relatives arranged clandestine deliveries of sugar that arrived in a casket from inside a hearse that pulled up to the back of the bakery in the wee hours of the morning. (Talk about pastries to die for!)
Janet also talks of playing in the bakery as a child with many fond memories of making dolls out of pastry dough as she watched and greeted patrons come and go all day long. She learned the family recipes (well-guarded secrets), and she has been running the shop now for more than 40 years. She cites always being able to find good dependable help as one reason for the bakery's long term success. However, I would add that it is the indisputable delicious baked goods that are created fresh day in and day out that also have people coming back for more. (My personal favorite is the blueberry ring; I'd suggest calling ahead and ordering a couple, because they go fast.)
Bakery start-ups are frequent but their longevity is often short. Indeed, baker's hours are long and hard. One of Barbour's bakers begins work at 10 p.m. and he works until 4 a.m., when he is relieved by another who works until 8 a.m.
I have a dear friend, Kaye Harding, who lives in the Binghamton, N.Y., area. About three years ago, I decided to stop at Barbours on my way to see her to pick up a few goodies. Little did I know that my selection of cinnamon rolls would bring tears to Kaye's eyes upon tasting the the sweets. You see, Kaye's mother, an immigrant from Italy, would always make her delicious baked goods from scratch, and when Kaye tasted those cinnamon rolls from Barbours, she felt as though she was once again eating her mother's pastries that she hadn't had for over 20 years. So now I have created a 'little monster' of sorts, because I would be remiss if I did not take Kaye her 'fix' of cinnamon rolls each time I visit. But as Kaye would add, what a 'good little monster' that is. Barbour's Bakery reminds me of being in a small hamlet in Austria or a quaint village in Germany, where every resident knows that their local bakery has the best baked goods in the region — if not the whole wide world.
Christmas Eve Crowds at Barbour’s Bakery in Carbondale Chamber honors Barbour's for 100 years!
There is not much room inside Barbour's Bakery on a typical day.
The crowded chaos on Christmas Eve is part of the appeal for customers who have been coming to Barbour's on this day for decades.
"It's the only bakery really left here in town, and I`ve been coming here for years. I used to work at old Barbour's Bakery years ago when a different owner had it," said Ray Barrese of Carbondale.
The bakery on Salem Avenue in Carbondale has been passed down through three generations of the same family. The owners said Christmas is undoubtedly the busiest season and everyone in the family has to lend a hand.
The owner's son Fran comes in early from California to help out.
"When we were knee high to a grasshopper, we were doing this here making cookies when we were kids," Fran Price said.
Barbour`s Bakery has been open since 1912. That`s 102 Christmases now.
The cookie recipes are the same as they always have been.
"We sell all kinds of cookies, we have hundreds and hundreds of pounds of cookies. And we have fruit cakes, we have pies, but the cookies are the biggest seller for Christmas," said owner Janet Price.
Price said her grandmother came up with most of the recipes. Newswatch 16 found customers buying cookies by the dozen along with uncooked dough that many fry up for Christmas Eve dessert.
"Today is just busy busy, we close early though we close about 1:30 this afternoon so we can get ready for Christmas Eve supper. It`s just always busy and we`re thankful that it is," Price added.
The Prices work around the clock for 48 hours before they close up Christmas Eve.
Despite all the work, they said they're ready for Christmas #103.
The Greater Carbondale Chamber of Commerce honored Barbour’s Bakery for its 100th year in business at a Membership Meeting and Mixer on Thursday night, May 24, 2012.
Chamber president Steve Ursich (right) presented a plaque to Janet Price (left), owner of Barbour’s Bakery, in honor of the shop’s 100th year in business.
By Tom Flannery/Staff Writer
Barbour’s, which is located at 55 Salem Ave., was founded in 1912 by the grandmother of current owner Janet Price, and it remains one of the staples of downtown Carbondale a century later.
“That’s a remarkable thing,” offered Chamber president Steve Ursich, who pointed out that 80 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years.
He saluted Price as “one of the survivors,” pointing out that Barbour’s has persevered “through Depressions and recessions and wars.”
Ursich presented Price with a Certificate of Achievement plaque in honor of Barbour’s Bakery and its celebration of 100 years in business this year.
He also addressed the Chamber membership and those in attendance about the organization’s ongoing work. He said Carbondale has “a lot to be proud of at this time,” and he noted that the Chamber is playing an important part in that.
“It’s not too hard to look around and see progress,” he offered. “It’s really exciting to see all of the activity that’s going on locally. That’s something we can all be excited about.”
Ursich stated that small businesses are the engine that drive the local economy, like anywhere else, and they’re also critical to retaining young people.
“Without small businesses at the core of this effort, it is impossible to convince youth to stay in our area,” he explained.
He said the Chamber is also keeping in contact with elected officials, at the state and federal levels as well as locally, to keep them apprised of the needs of the business community.
“We want to make sure that they are aware of what’s going on here,” Ursich related.
He thanked the members of the Chamber board for their dedication, stating “it’s tireless,” and said there are opportunities for business people to serve on project committees if they are interested in doing so.
103 Christmases and Counting for Carbondale Bakery Barbour’s Bakery & Carl Von Luger Win UNC’s Chocoholic Frolic Challenge Television News Coverage
By Stacy Lange
A bakery in Carbondale has been selling Christmas treats for 103 years now. The tradition goes back that far for some of their customers, too.
A lot of work goes in to preparing the piles of treats for sale at Barbour’s Bakery in Carbondale at Christmastime. It was a close call this year. Tuesday night, most of the Pioneer City lost power. “We said of course it’s an emergency! It’s a bakery, we’re here 103 years, we need to be here for Christmas! So, they came after 10:00 at night…they fixed the power so we had a mixer,” said owner Janet Price. So, on very little sleep, the Price family worked through the Christmas Eve rush. The 103rd in a row for Barbour’s Bakery on Salem Avenue.
For the some of their customers, their families have been stopping there for almost as long. “It was a tradition for my great-grandmother and my grandmother and my mother. So, we just continue it and that’s my favorite part,” said Christie Bedean of Carbondale. “Back as far as my grandmother, we’ve been coming to this bakery. The buns, everything , the birthday cakes, you name it, for every occasion we always come here,” added Mary Rose Hadsell of Carbondale.
While stopping at Barbour’s is a Christmas Eve tradition for lots of folks in Carbondale, the customers told Newswatch 16 they were going to making more stops this Christmas Eve because the weather is so nontraditional. “We’re going to Christmas Eve Mass and I don’t even know what I’m wearing yet! Instead of heavy coats we have to look for lighter wear to wear this evening,” Hadsell said. The owners Barbour’s bakery said they’re proud to play a role in people’s Christmas traditions. “Anybody from around the area, anyone that comes here ,we love them all,” Price said.
Barbour’s Bakery, Carbondale, and Carl Von Luger Restaurant, Scranton, tied as winners of the “Chocolate Challenge” at United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s (UNC) recent 11th Annual Chocoholic Frolic. The event, which raised $14,000 for UNC’s free adult literacy and English as a Second Language tutoring programs, featured tastings of sweet and savory chocolate treats offered by a total of 15 vendors.
All attendees at the event had the opportunity to vote for their favorite vendor. Voters selected Barbour’s Bakery for their variety of treats that included brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate peanut butter delights. Carl Von Luger Restaurant won for both their savory cocoa chili rubbed pork belly and sweet bourbon toffee chocolate bouchon.
Pictured above are: Lois Burko, Barbour’s Bakery; Susan Price, Barbour’s Bakery; Janet Price, owner, Barbour’s Bakery; Maureen Cook, Barbour’s Bakery; Michael Hanley, chief executive officer, United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania; Timothy Washo, Carl Von Luger; and Thomas Mezick, Carl Von Luger. Absent from the photo are Helen Saar and Brett Stevens of Carl Von Luger.
