by Bea Peterson
For Jeannie Hathaway-Waytkus Jeannie’s Sweet Dreams Bakery is a long awaited dream come true. “For 27 years I raised my kids by myself. Now they’re grown, and I get to do what I want to do,” she said. What she is doing is “putting in a lot of time and a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.”
Jeannie graduated from Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Providence, RI, in 1978. “I’ve cooked all my life,” she said. She cooked at Bensen’s on Route 22, Bennington County Head Start and in the kitchen at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.
Jeannie’s Sweet Dreams Bakery shares space with Weeb’s Fish Fry in the former Harrison Vending Building at 204 Main Street. She opened the Bakery on October 16, when Weeb’s closed its every day fish fry. Weeb’s still offers fish frys on Fridays and Saturdays from 3 to 8 pm. Starting April 10 they will again open for the summer season, and Jeannie will have a different space to display all her pastries. So far, she said, the Bakery has been going well. “The holidays were amazing,” she said. She feels the Bakery is something that was much needed in the community. She was one of the vendors at the Armory on St. Patrick’s Day. Her Irish soda bread was delicious!
Jeannie has plenty of items for every taste. She makes pies, cheesecake, assorted cakes and custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, breads and rolls and plenty of breakfast pastries, from Danish to donuts to muffins to cinnamon buns.
Serving Breakfast And Lunch
For breakfast Jeannie offers made to order breakfast sandwiches and wraps, homemade bread French toast and pancakes with fruit toppings or syrup. “You can eat breakfast here or call ahead and pick it up to go,” she said. Besides these breakfast items, there is always the fresh made donuts.
Lunch is $6 for soup, sandwich and dessert. On Tuesdays it’s cheesy cream of broccoli soup with grilled ham and cheese on homemade bread and dessert. Thursdays it is corn chowder with sliced turkey or ham, chicken salad or tuna on a hard roll, wrap or croissant and dessert.
On Fridays the menu is hearty vegetable soup with tuna boat or wrap and dessert. Wednesdays are a little different. It is “crockpot” day. Something different each week, such as shepherd’s pie or goulash and, of course, dessert.
She will only be doing her food specialities for one more week. When Weeb’s opens for the season, she will be cooking fish and fries and whatever else Weeb’s offers
Jeannie’s and Weeb’s are closed on Mondays. Starting April 10 the two businesses will be open 8 am to 8 pm Tuesdays through Sundays.