Laurie and Ian are a couple and also the proprietors of the Underground Bakery  

It seemed an improbable story-line. A Cape Cod girl and a Cleveland boy starting their relationship at a bakery in Dennis, and then end up buying and running the exact spot they met. There is a lot of history in their business and like the way they run it, it starts with a passion for food, and ends with love for their employees and the patrons that support them.

Laurie came and went from the Cape for a few years. She finally settled here roughly 16 years ago.

“I was a Summer Kid in Brewster and then I moved here, how many years ago? Like 20 years ago? And then I left a couple of times and then I came back and I have been here permanently for 16 years.”

Ian’s story is a bit different. He was bored of the daily routine in his hometown, and a change of scenery was needed.

“I got bored with Ohio. I kind of got in my car one night and couldn’t get lost in Ohio anymore. A buddy of mine I knew lived out here that I knew from College and (I) moved out here and lived in Chatham for a while and then Centerville, and then Dennis and Yarmouth Port.”

What keeps them here is nearly identical. Laurie has family, they both have the business, but both overwhelmingly agreed that the ocean makes the experience of being year round on Cape Cod worth every minute of it. Laurie feels claustrophobic when she moves away from the sea.

As they found each other by the seaside with their lives somehow bound by food, they decided to buy the bakery they started dating at through connections Laurie had with the previous owner.

“I worked here. I helped the original owner open this as a retail business. She had wholesale out of here and then she went retail and I was her original pastry chef.  I worked here for 3.5 years and Ian asked me out in this building. There is a lot of history. Then when the previous owner wanted to sell this location she called me first on a snowy December day and I said absolutely. I was actually on my way home from a shift at the Corner Store (When) she called me and then it was all craziness from that day forward.”

And then the Underground Bakery was born. For Laurie this was a dream she had since she was 15. For Ian, who has been around food for many of his professional years, was ready to dive head first into the business. Owning a business on Cape Cod does come with struggles.

“You guys work. Work hard. (You do) at least a couple of different things. We do at least a couple of different things but they all happen to be for the same business. And we don’t really go out much or see people much because our priorities are mostly taking care of each other and the business. Just getting through the winter.”

“One of this biggest things we struggle with is making sure out staff has enough employment to get through the year. So that they can survive year round as well as us. So it's a constant rotation to make enough money in the summertime to carry you through the winter and make sure you can support yourself and everybody else you employ as well. “

They spend nights at home and days at the business and are surrounded with love from friends and family along with their staff. Their socialization comes from in the building and with the community. This openness to themselves has helped them form bonds with their customers and has created a great year round clientele. They practice sustainable local business practices which helps their business immensely and generates community connections.

You can tell by their demeanor and the way they talk about the bakery and the community, there is deep love for the business and the relationships it helped foster. They enjoy the Underground Bakery and all it has brought to them. Their relationship always seemed to be intertwined with food. 

“Ian: I just get up in the morning. I just get up in the morning and do stuff. Really that was mostly it.

Laurie: When I was 15 years old I told my parents one day I was going to own a bakery. Here I am

Ian: I went to school to be a jeweler. I worked for a Jeweler, I did radio, did landscaping. Kind of sucks. (Landscaping)

Laurie: But you fell in love with the food.

Ian: Food is always the thing I come back to.”

Stop in and visit Underground Bakery 780 Main St #6a, Dennis, MA 02638

and follow them on Instagram @undergroundbakery