Longtime Idaho Falls bakery saying goodbye after Thanksgiving
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IDAHO FALLS — After announcing they’d be closing down after Thanksgiving, longtime Idaho Falls business Babe’s Bakery & Croissanterie has been mobbed with more customers than ever.
Owner Edith Morris has had the business since 1987. She said closing the doors was a tough decision, but that it’s time for her to retire.
“I feel really bad. This has been extremely hard because my customers have been pouring in (and) they’re very upset I’m leaving,” Morris said. “It’s been a long time I just decided that I needed to retire and now’s the time to do it.”
Morris said it’s been a labor of love, a lot of hard work and they’ve worked hard at cooking with their own formulas.
Morris said originally the shop was opened by her, her mother Babe Carter and her sister Katherine Bruun. Morris said prior to her shop, she’d always worked as an administrative assistant or a secretary. The bakery was the sisters’ first business venture and they decided to name it after their mother Babe.
“My sister had never worked, my father was retiring (and) she said, ‘I’m not going to stay home with him let’s open a business,’ so we just did it,” Morris said.
The started at a smaller location where the Grand Teton Mall sits on Channing Way. She said the shop always remained busy, and soon they decided to move across the way to where the location is now at 1900 Channing Way.
Morris wasn’t expecting the second location to be just as packed even though it was larger than their first.
“(We) moved over here and thought it was going to be extremely huge,” Morris said. “We didn’t know how we were going to fill it, and the first day we were mobbed.”
Morris said at Babe’s they’ve worked at always providing customers with the best meats and produce. Since day one she’s worked to buy the best products on the market including organic meats and the freshest lettuce.
Babe’s top sellers have been the ultimate fudge brownie and the raspberry cream pie.
“We’ve been a really good business, we’ve been voted best lunch, best everything for years, so it’s been a very successful business,” Morris said.
After Bruun’s passing, and Carter’s back issues and illness, Morris said she was the last creative left working at their brick and mortar shop. Even though she was the last owner to work there she said she’s had a great staff.
“I’ve had a lot of really excellent people working for me,” Morris said. “They’ve worked hard and it’s a hard job.”
Morris is sad to go, but she appreciates her faithful customers and will be giving each regular one last pie.
“I just want to thank all of our loyal customers and friends and tell them how much I’ve appreciated them for the past 31 years they’ve been great,” Morris said.
Morris said there is a possibility that she will be writing a cookbook in the near future. Anyone who’s interested is free to email her at babescookbook@gmail.com.
The shop will only be preparing and selling a quarter of the number of pies they usually sell until they close.
Babe’s Bakery will close Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving.