Pet treats are available for purchase Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, at Collin Street Bakery in Lindale. LouAnna Campbell/Tyler Morning Telegraph

LINDALE – The original founders of Collin Street Bakery brought their old world recipes to Corsicana from Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1896. Founders August Weidmann and Tom McElwee could not have imagined their bakery would one day be a place where electric cars could charge while the owners have lunch or enjoy coffee and pastries.

Whether it’s the weary traveler or frequent regular customers, Collin Street Bakery serves up sweet and savory selections for all to enjoy. And, this time of year, fruitcake is a tradition and staple for many at their holiday festivities.

Fruitcake originally was made with the leftover fall and summer fruit harvests that were baked into dense cakes that could be preserved for long periods of time. The 120-year-old recipe Collin Street Bakery has perfected over the years has become a tradition during the holiday season. The East Texas specialty is made in Corsicana, sold at Collin Street Bakery locations in Greenville, Waco and Lindale and shipped throughout the world.

“The fruitcakes are made from fresh fruit in Corsicana at the Seventh Avenue location,” said Paul Young, the manager of Collin Street Bakery in Lindale. “The cakes are shipped to us, and we are able to sell them here. Our cakes are made so that 30 percent of them are pecans. Our best seller is the Original Deluxe.”

The cakes are shipped to all 50 states and 196 foreign countries. According to a bank of facts about the bakery, fruitcakes have been sent to the South Pole and delivered to a U.S. outpost in Antarctica and by a Sherpa, an ethnic group from the mountainous regions of Nepal, high in the Himalayan Mountains, to the top of Kilimanjaro. Collin Street Bakery customers come from all walks of life and many famous people are regulars.

“Jack Hannah came to our store in September,” Young said. “ Vanna White and Nolan Ryan are some of our other famous customers to the other locations.”

The bakery offers six different varieties of fruitcake. The best selling is the original deluxe fruitcake. Other varieties include apricot pecan, pineapple pecan, apple cinnamon pecan, Texas blonde pecan and strawberry pecan.

Even though the fruitcake recipe is more than 100 years old, Collin Street Bakery isn’t all old fashioned.

When you pull into the parking lot of the bakery in Lindale, you will notice some of the parking places contain red and white superchargers to charge Tesla electric cars – one of the latest signs of how Collin Street Bakery is constantly evolving. 

“Collin Street Bakery in Lindale recently partnered with Tesla,” Young said. “There are eight charging stations in the parking lot.”

The bakery has the only charging stations between Dallas and Shreveport, Louisiana, and makes a comfortable place for drivers to stop to energize themselves and their vehicles. 

“This is where Tesla drivers stop to recharge their cars when they’re going to or coming from Dallas,” Young said. “We have a variety of goods to offer our customers. There are pastries, cakes, cookies, pecan pies, and we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the bakery.”

Twitter: @TMT_LouAnnaC

 

HOURS

Collin Street Bakery in Lindale is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.