A new look and name for Holly B’s, with the same amount of love and butter
Mar 20, 2025
Holly and I sat down at the bakery last week to chat about traditions. We talked about getting a pastry in exchange for a quart of hand-picked blackberries, and of two-for-one treats at the end of the day. We also talked about welcoming young bakers into the kitchen. The new bakery team is excited to continue all these traditions! When I asked Holly how she kept her staff happy, she said pay people well and throw a staff party at the mid-point of summer, even if it means closing the bakery to do so. She also offered advice about always making eye contact with customers and offering friendly greetings. It’s extraordinary to have traditions of such love and intention as the foundation of a business, and our new crew looks forward to building on that foundation.
It’s also inevitable that some things about the bakery are going to change. Diana Sherwood will count this summer as her 33rd at the bakery, and the talented Bryan Nguyen, Ava Bennett, and Kristy Rogers be baking again, and Emma Ewert will be returning to the bakery many years after her first stint as a high school assistant baker. At the same time, we are bringing on several new staff who have different training, talents, backgrounds, and interests: among them, the bakery’s new Pastry Chef, Jeric Smith, who will lead the kitchen, and our bakery manager, Juniper Blomberg.
Nearly 50 years after Holly opened her doors, the way we eat has changed, too. Many of us consume less sugar than we used to, some of us are gluten free, and local grain production has given us new ingredients with which to play. While we will keep our island favorites like the Rudy’s croissant and Holly’s Almond Butterhorn, we’ll be adding new tastes and flavors that allow us to play, experiment, and explore. Have you ever had a bibingka? Or babka baked in a banana leaf? I’m excited to try these new things, and I hope you will be, too.
When someone first suggested that we change the name of the bakery, I thought it sounded like sacrilege. Holly B’s is an island institution, and to know Holly is to adore her. But plenty of people also pointed out that I am not Holly, and I never will be. No matter what Jeric or I do, the bakery will never be the same as it was under Holly’s helm. Now, as Holly (and Stephanie!) sleep at night, I’m the one up worried about my staff’s housing and health concerns, the leaking faucet, the broken back door, and where to get eggs… The bakery’s mostly new crew are the ones waking up early to get the ovens started, make delicious treats, empty the grease trap, and scrub the floors. The crew we create and the treats we bake will be our own, new thing. And to acknowledge that we are creating something new together, we have chosen a new name: Fine Mess Bakery.
Fine Mess Bakery. What does it mean?!
Baking is a mess of fine things: Sugar. Salt. Flour. Yeast. All fine granules that powder-coat the counters, the floors, and even the ceiling! The bakery gets messy, the bakers get messy, and in or out of that mess we make something beautiful, delicious, and sustaining. Out of that mess we make something that hopefully brings some sweetness, some lightness, and some joy.
At first, some of us (even me!) didn’t like this name at all. But the more we thought about it, the more it felt just right. Getting messy requires risk. It asks us to take a chance. It’s also sometimes a place we arrive unintentionally: a glass of spilled milk, a slip in the mud. It’s life. And what we make of those moments defines who we are.
As we try new things and make some messes along the way, we hope you will come by to see, to taste, to say hello, and to exchange a friendly greeting. Our friends making architectural drawings, the incredible crew creating new cabinetry and lighting, the tradespeople checking in on our fridges and faucets, our food purveyors, and our dedicated baking team are putting a lot of heart into bringing you tasty baguettes, breads, croissants, and cookies with lots of love and butter. We can’t wait to share it with you.
- Margot, Jeric, Juniper, and the Fine Mess Bakery Team
Stay tuned for our new website launch and our soft opening on Friday, April 4. Our start-up hours will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8am - 3pm.
It’s also inevitable that some things about the bakery are going to change. Diana Sherwood will count this summer as her 33rd at the bakery, and the talented Bryan Nguyen, Ava Bennett, and Kristy Rogers be baking again, and Emma Ewert will be returning to the bakery many years after her first stint as a high school assistant baker. At the same time, we are bringing on several new staff who have different training, talents, backgrounds, and interests: among them, the bakery’s new Pastry Chef, Jeric Smith, who will lead the kitchen, and our bakery manager, Juniper Blomberg.
Nearly 50 years after Holly opened her doors, the way we eat has changed, too. Many of us consume less sugar than we used to, some of us are gluten free, and local grain production has given us new ingredients with which to play. While we will keep our island favorites like the Rudy’s croissant and Holly’s Almond Butterhorn, we’ll be adding new tastes and flavors that allow us to play, experiment, and explore. Have you ever had a bibingka? Or babka baked in a banana leaf? I’m excited to try these new things, and I hope you will be, too.
When someone first suggested that we change the name of the bakery, I thought it sounded like sacrilege. Holly B’s is an island institution, and to know Holly is to adore her. But plenty of people also pointed out that I am not Holly, and I never will be. No matter what Jeric or I do, the bakery will never be the same as it was under Holly’s helm. Now, as Holly (and Stephanie!) sleep at night, I’m the one up worried about my staff’s housing and health concerns, the leaking faucet, the broken back door, and where to get eggs… The bakery’s mostly new crew are the ones waking up early to get the ovens started, make delicious treats, empty the grease trap, and scrub the floors. The crew we create and the treats we bake will be our own, new thing. And to acknowledge that we are creating something new together, we have chosen a new name: Fine Mess Bakery.
Fine Mess Bakery. What does it mean?!
Baking is a mess of fine things: Sugar. Salt. Flour. Yeast. All fine granules that powder-coat the counters, the floors, and even the ceiling! The bakery gets messy, the bakers get messy, and in or out of that mess we make something beautiful, delicious, and sustaining. Out of that mess we make something that hopefully brings some sweetness, some lightness, and some joy.
At first, some of us (even me!) didn’t like this name at all. But the more we thought about it, the more it felt just right. Getting messy requires risk. It asks us to take a chance. It’s also sometimes a place we arrive unintentionally: a glass of spilled milk, a slip in the mud. It’s life. And what we make of those moments defines who we are.
As we try new things and make some messes along the way, we hope you will come by to see, to taste, to say hello, and to exchange a friendly greeting. Our friends making architectural drawings, the incredible crew creating new cabinetry and lighting, the tradespeople checking in on our fridges and faucets, our food purveyors, and our dedicated baking team are putting a lot of heart into bringing you tasty baguettes, breads, croissants, and cookies with lots of love and butter. We can’t wait to share it with you.
- Margot, Jeric, Juniper, and the Fine Mess Bakery Team
Stay tuned for our new website launch and our soft opening on Friday, April 4. Our start-up hours will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8am - 3pm.