Sunday Morning Bakehouse soft opening at Pike & Rose (Menu+Photos)

Sunday Morning Bakehouse, the long-awaited new bakery cafe at 11869 Grand Park Avenue at Pike & Rose, is holding soft-opening hours this week. This is not a full opening, as the hours are variable, and the menu is not the "official" menu but still pretty sizable.

Sunday Morning Bakehouse
soft opening menu

Check out the very stylish interior; this is a cafe that "looks like Pike & Rose." Comfortable furniture at the rear of the space invites you to meet up with friends over coffee and Elvis croissants. As much as visitors are going to seek out Sunday Morning Bakehouse based on its now-legendary farm market reputation, I think Pike & Rose residents are going to especially appreciate this new addition to the property.

Sunday Morning Bakehouse to open at Pike & Rose

Chef Caroline Yi's baked goods have been such a hit at Pike & Rose's weekend farmers market that landlord Federal Realty is bringing her officially on-board with a bricks-and-mortar location. Sunday Morning Bakehouse, a bakery and cafe, will open at the development in Summer 2019.

Yi is a Montgomery County native who went to Rockville's Wooten High School, and is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park. She has been baking almost as long, starting with Christmas cookies at the age of seven.

With seating for up to 35 people, Yi is looking forward to making the transition from take-out farm market sales to sit-down dining next summer. “It’s a different experience when we can plate the meal, rather than a grab and go at the farmer’s market," she said. "We are excited to create a beautiful space where our guests can sit down and enjoy their food with a leisurely cup of coffee.”

What might you expect to enjoy in that space? Yi's French butter croissants that are three days in the making, homemade jam-filled brioche donuts with seasonal flavors, her favorite grilled cheese or tuna salad sandwiches, baked eggs or French-style omelettes, and my personal favorite, twice-baked Elvis croissants filled with roasted peanut butter, fresh bananas and bacon.

Opening up shop just down the Pike from her Rockville stomping grounds is just the icing on the cake for Yi. “I knew if and when I opened my first business it had to be in my hometown," she said. "After visiting Pike & Rose for the first time, I fell in love with it and knew it was the only place I could picture my bakery and café,”

Federal Realty's VP of Leasing, Stuart Biel, said the feeling is mutual. “Having grown up just down the road from Pike & Rose, Caroline is a neighbor," Biel said Tuesday. He predicted Sunday Morning Bakehouse will be "a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, bringing the perfect blend of innovation and comfort with pastries that have delighted patrons at the farm market since it first appeared.”

Photos courtesy Sunday Morning Bakehouse