Mr. Meowski's

10/03/2026

Ohh boy. Mr. Meowski is in one of his moods. From the outside looking in, he looks normal. But we’ve spent so much time together, I know… I always know when something is off.

Mr. Meowski has a tell. He purses his whiskers forward, ever so slightly as if there is a stiff breeze pushing them from behind. And his tail. His tail usually floats behind him, fluttering in the air like a kite, but not today, not when he’s like this.

Right now his tail is rigid and stout. When he walks across the bakery I can see his tail is ticking back and forth like a metronome. Like he’s being directed by a menacing conductor who has no tolerance for rushing or lagging on the beat, or a red faced drill sergeant who’s looking for a reason.

The saddest part is that he’s trying so hard to look normal, probably to protect me from his problems.

I have a weakness when he gets like this. I always have to pry because I have an insatiable need to figure out why he is the way he is. My curiosity comes from a spring whose source is so deep the bottom is yet to be discovered.

I hate having a mystery on my hands.

What I really need to do is to learn how to let well enough alone, but I can’t help it. I have to poke the problem with a stick. Like I’m poking an opossum trying to play dead until the opossum decides his usual tricks and deception won’t work because my persistence is worse than a hungry mosquito buzzing in a hot sweaty tent.

The opossum will eventually get up and scurry back into the bush hastened by the tenderness in his ribs.

! I have digressed! My humble apologies.now where were we? Ohh yes back to Mr. M.

Mr. Meowski is getting on in the years, and is basically a raggedy, grumpy old man, if not by looks, certainly in spirit.

He’s allowed to have some autonomy without me prying into his life. After all we are business partners not lovers. Some aspects of his life can remain outside of my knowledge.

But I never know what to do when he gets like this. On one hand I want him to know I’m here if he wants to share. I personally think he will feel better if he did share, but that’s not up to me. My job is to be patient and present with him.

If he chooses to tell me what has his tail in knots I could quit making up imaginary scenarios that have caused his whiskers to tighten up like harp strings, but that would be to my benefit, not his, so I just try my best to remain a close and quiet companion.

Maybe he’ll tell me, maybe he won’t but I just hope he knows I’ll be here to ride out the storm with him. I will be the constant that is eluding him everywhere else and in that I hope he finds comfort and peace in that.

09/20/2026

Nothing went according to plan for this bake HOWEVER I am trying to recover in a way where you will not give up on me or the bakery.

08/20/2026

My beloved team members, good morning!!!

It is that time of year again where I find I must retreat to higher grounds and find tranquility somewhere other than the bakery.

We will be back, Thursday 9/3/2026.

07/02/2026

We will be closed this week 7/2-7/5.

I will miss you.

On a side note if you’re wondering how the build is going I can take this moment to give you an update.

It’s going PAINFULLY SLOW at the moment. I decided to go down a rabbit hole and learn how to make historic wood double hung windows.

It would have been much wiser to purchase them but I couldn’t help myself. It started out so innocently, now all I can do is read about windows and mill lumber for the windows.

The whole subject of windows would have been in the rear view mirror if I just signed the bid and purchased them. They would have probably been installed already too.

The only good thing that I have to say about this 3 week endeavor is that at the very least I’m taking steps in the right direction. And that’s the kindest way I can say it to myself.

Window trivia. What are the little wood pieces that make up the grid inside the window actually called?

Muntin bars!! And don’t even get me start on how what we all refer to the window sill is actually called the window stool!!

Ok. My endorphins are all fired up now that I’m thinking about windows so I’ll have to go and calm myself down, but before I go I’ll let you watch a video of me assembling the bottom sash on one of my new windows.

I hope everyone enjoys this week and you find unique ways to enjoy entertain yourself that don’t include baking yourself when you go outside.

05/14/2026

Hey Team! Can we huddle up for a little bit.

We will be closed this week. 5/14-5/17 so if you could help spread the word I would appreciate it. I hate disappointing people and shearing stories about your travels to the bakery only to be met with a locked door break me.

Now, since we all know each other so well I’ll tell you a little more about my life.

If you’ve walked into the bakery or sent me an email over the past year asking about pizza, I usually give a response like “I’m sorry pizzas are on a hiatus. My life is a little overwhelming right now but I’m hoping to have more bandwidth in the future.”

I try and stop the conversation there. Very few people know my life is so complicated and overwhelming at the moment, so today is the day I let you know.

One year ago my wife and I purchased a multi use building that we will be moving both the bakery and our home into. If you have directly asked me if I was moving the bakery and I deceived you I beg for your forgiveness. For a multitude of reasons I had to keep this a clandestine mission until now.

I was in love with this building from the second I walked in it. It is a well loved building and we are the third owners since its construction in 1890.

When I got the keys to the building I thought it was perfect. It just needed a little “updating.”

I was brimming with optimism when we purchased the building and I enthusiastically convinced my wife that the project would only take 90 days. Well like everything else in my life this project has totally consumed me and before I knew it I had taken a perfectly good building and gutted the place down to the studs and bare brick. No ceiling, no woodwork, no walls, no doors, no wires, no pipes, and in some parts of the home, not even a floor.

Every single day off I’ve had for the last year has been spent toiling away on this building. I’ve sweated in the sweltering heat of summer and have bundled up with so many layers I could barely swing a hammer as the frigid air of winter frosts my breath.

I’m determined to do all the work myself too, which will either be the most rewarding experience of my life or the ultimate foible for which I will forever feel shame when I look my wife in the eye. Being accountable to my her is the ultimate motivator, to which I rise early on my days off to, and to which keeps me working in the building far past the time of weakness and fatigue.

Anyway!! I’m making good progress and I hope to be done with this project in one year from now.

Main Street has been a gift beyond measure to my business but our new location at 508 Jefferson will offer many exciting benefits for you and me too, including a kick ass commute for me.

You will have reserve parking right next to the building so you no longer have to worry about Main Street being closed down for one of its numerous community building activities. No more worrying about parking, no more 1/2 mile walks over cobblestone, no more twisted ankles and high curbs. While my most motivated customers who rise with the sun never have to deal with parking trouble, anyone visiting past 8:30am knows the challenges that it presents.

508 Jefferson has tested me in unimaginable ways. I’ve learned learned about plumbing, fixture units, and wye fittings. I’ve learned about electricity main bonding jumpers, weather heads, and arc fault interrupters. I’ve learned about framing, headers, king studs top plates.

My skills and ability to learn new things has been stretched well beyond what I thought was possible.

I’ve also met and talked to lots of people who have generously shared their time, craft, tools, and knowledge freely and without any desire for compensation. Their kindness astounds me, including my Dad who keeps me accountable to someone else to when the last thing I want to do on my day off is balance on a 12 foot ladder covered in coal dust in heat that shows no mercy.

So to answer the ultimate question.

When will be moving the new bakery??

I can confidently tell you I HAVE NO IDEA!

My only job is to keep showing up. One day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute of a time. Just show up!!

Thanks for being a team member and growing with me. Many of you have now been supporting the bakery for almost 10 years. You have laid the foundation for me to build something new for us. Who would have ever guessed that Mr. Meowski’s would be in a position to purchase a building.

I’m committed to St. Charles and I look forward to putting this chapter of my life behind me so I can get to the good stuff!!

Thanks for making my dream a reality!

04/05/2026

Goodmorning Team!!! Mr. Meowski told me he’s taking the day off today. ( 4/4/2026)

I used to catch him napping all the time. He had an expert level commitment to lazing about in sunbeams. But not recently. He’s been toiling about incessantly and keeps murmuring about a big project. I can tell he needs some rest but he won’t admit it. You should see how crazy his fur looks right now.

Anyway! I walked in his room this morning and I saw him snuggling with Mrs. Meowski and they were just purring about without a care in the world. The duet of purring would only occasionally be interrupted when one of them stopped to groom the other and then they would nestle back into each other.

While we won’t be open today, which I am sad about, it is good to see Mr. M at peace for a brief moment and it is both of our sincere wish you find moments of serenity and contentment today just like Mr. M and his old lady have.

12/26/2025

12/22/2025

I slept on it and I decided it would not be Christmas unless I made some brioche rolls!! (Link in comments)

All your kind words have propelled me onwards! One paw in front of the other, right?!

Thank you, for what can only be described as an outpouring of support. 🙏

12/18/2025

Ohh boy… Team, it’s time for another huddle, and buckle up because this is a long one…. and I get all philosophical and talk about feelings and stuff.

TLDR: The bakery will be closed this week.

You may have tried to visit the bakery two weeks ago only to be met with a closed sign. My sincerest apologies. My wife and her brother are grieving the loss of their mother.

We drove 10 hours through the night to be with her in her final moments and like a true mother her final movements were reserved to bring comfort to her two children.

We will be returning to the place she lived out her final years this weekend to celebrate her life and as such I will have to close the bakery despite trying and planning to the best of my abilities. This one just wasn’t in the cards for me.

In between moments of trying to bring solice to my wife, I have been inspired to think more philosophically about my role as your neighborhood baker.

First and foremost it is an honor to serve you. You allow me to be a part of your life and that isn’t something I take lightly.

I hope that my presence isn’t to be endured just to get a good loaf of bread but rather a warm welcoming presence that you look forward seeing, and you happen to walk out with a warm loaf of bread.

One of my favorite things to say to people as they walk through the bakery door is “thank you for being here!” Most people interpret “here” as the bakery, but what I really mean is, thank you for being alive and letting me share and enjoy your presence.

I get glimmers of everyone that walks through the bakery door. Some let their spirit shine bright like a bonfire at a wild party while others are much more guarded, protecting their flame from winds of life.

Sometimes customers are on a mission for bread, and bread only.

Sometimes a customer wabts a croissant and a much needed chat.

Yet other times someone will walk through that bakery door for a much different reason.

Sometimes a soul walks through that door that is much more interested in a temporary reprieve from life’s suffering than a fine viennoiserie.

I always say to myself I’m not just selling bread. If I’m trying to sell anything, I’m trying to sell a warm, constant presence. I want to be a person who makes you feel comfortable and welcome. A person to share life’s trials and tribulations with, if needed, 30 seconds at a time.

Other times I fear I have over thought my role as a shop keeper and I should just “put the fries in the bag,” but after the past few weeks I have come away with a more resolute feeling.

Last week while the bakery was closed I was not a shop keeper but a customer, opening random doors in Texas, in between being present with a person preparing for the ultimate journey, I was desperately hoping to meet kind people to bring me comfort and warmth in a sea of chaos.

It seems as if life has been tossing me around like a ship being battered against a rocky cliff recently. When life gets that way I tend to go on a search for people to toss me a buoy, and it never fails I always my bouy in the form of other kind souls.

I definitely found those souls last week too while I was grief stricken in a forign land. These souls magically emerged, came and went like echos in a canyon, their warm kind faces settling in my heart. These people revealed themselves, one by one, like finishing oil on dry wood leaving behind a much needed warm protective layer on my dry parched heart.

Yes, last week has given me much needed clarity about my role as your neighborhood baker.

I will continue to aspire to be a kind beacon of tranquility for those that are looking for one.

Welcoming you into the bakery is the greatest role I’ve ever been tasked and when the time is right I will return to be that person for you but for now the bakeries operations will be sporadic until the first week of January.

It is an honor to serve you.

12/04/2025

Hey Team can we huddle up for a second.

We will be closed this week and possibly next. If you would like to know why please read my previous post.I will try to post a more indepth post later this afternoon.


Thank you for all of your kind comments, while I might not have engaged with any of your comments please know your kind words buoyed both my wife and I in this time of need. 🙏