MarieBette Café & Bakery has expanded its baking operations into a new building about a block away from the French café at 700 Rose Hill Dr. The satellite space has brand-new equipment, such as a gigantic four-deck oven that’s double the size of the one in the original bakery.
“So basically, it triples our baking capacity,” says owner Patrick Evans of the expansion. The bakery upgraded almost all its machinery to keep up with the oven, so the new space is home to gadgets galore. There’s a bigger walk-in refrigerator, a larger mixer, a machine that specifically cuts and shapes rolls and a retarder/proofer that starts cold and heats up overnight, allowing pastries to go in the oven first thing in the morning. But the oven is the star of the show; instead of only being able to bake about 50 baguettes an hour, it can bake three times that many.
Evans says MarieBette will expand its offerings to include goodies for events such as weddings, plus different-sized breads and more rolls for restaurants. He also has more room to test new recipes, because the original bakery will continue regular operations.
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