This article has been edited since it first appeared online.
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(From left) Baker Hannah Davis and Claudia's Bake Shop owner Claudia Strobing (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Claudia's Bake Shop will open April 19 at 3027 W. Cary St. in Carytown. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Claudia Strobing, similar to many native New Yorkers, or strong women on the verge of their 60th birthdays, knows exactly what she likes. Her list includes, but is not limited to, eggy challah, working efficiently in the kitchen, treats that lean toward the chocolatey and Hebrew National bologna.
The professional baker exudes a Southern hospitality, cultivated during years spent in South Carolina and Virginia, and a Northern way with words that will never disappear.
After decades in the cake business, devising her ideal bakery along the way, on April 26 Strobing will open Claudia’s Bake Shop, a designated kosher-dairy bakery at 3027 W. Cary St.
“The New York part of it was easy, that’s what I know,” Strobing says of the bake shop’s defining characteristics. “The being kosher came as a side line; it initially was going to be a quiet part of it. But this is my second time living in small Jewish community compared to living on Long Island ... and it took off on its own. We’re really very excited, we can reach out and touch it.”
While opening day is fast approaching, the path to her spacious, pink-tinted baking palace hasn’t been easy. Strobing originally signed a lease three months before the pandemic hit, the project was put on pause, there were complications with a contractor, and she eventually changed locations. What was easy, however, was finding her right-hand baker.
Enter Hannah Davis, a young art school grad Strobing met while working at an area location of the East Coast-based supermarket chain Publix. When a co-worker called out sick one day, Davis was sent to work alongside Strobing in the bakery department by happenstance.
“She was somebody that was a natural, and it’s hard to find people that are naturals,” Strobing says.
As they baked side by side, Davis became Strobing’s work daughter, the duo bonding over their stints in South Carolina bakeries, a desire to work efficiently and an appreciation for fudgy brownies on a gloomy day.
Strobing spotted talent, and Davis saw a chance to rise to the occasion.
“Following another 60-cake Saturday [at Publix], I turned to her and said, ‘I’m thinking of opening a bakery, will you come with me?’ ” Strobing says.
Davis said yes, and over the past two months, while awaiting for the shop to open, the pair have been testing, retesting and perfecting recipes at Strobing’s home.
In her late 50s, Strobing has been preparing for this day since she assumed the role of designated dessert-maker for her family as a child. When Strobing was 9, her mother — who owned hundreds of cookbooks — returned to work full time, leaving Strobing and her sisters with the ingredients to whip up dinner.
“I nearly blew up the house while waiting for the oil to boil, and my sisters were determined that it was no longer smart for me to make dinner,” Strobing says with a laugh, “so I started making desserts.”
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Million-dollar Cookies (Photo courtesy Claudia's Bake Shop)
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Rugelach (Photo courtesy Claudia's Bake Shop)
A baker at heart, Strobing was the college student with a mixing bowl and spoon in hand making a batch of cookies in the shared dorm kitchen, and later in life, hers was the house where parents wanted to drop their kids off to play because it usually meant they’d return with baked goods to share. The culinary school graduate worked under French pastry chef Jacques Torres at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta and also dabbled in the nonpastry side of the kitchen.
After having four kids, Strobing landed with her family in Charleston, South Carolina, where she would become a master decorator for Publix. It was also in Charleston where she connected with her faith in a different way.
“For the first time in most of my kids’ lives, they had a connection with the synagogue,” Strobing says. “It was a whole different feel for them, as well as it was for me. When I moved to Richmond, there was a similar Jewish population in size. I’m excited to be doing business here; the Jewish community has been very welcoming.”
Upon the bakery’s debut, challah loaves will be a Fridays-only option, but every day, patrons can expect croissants, danishes, babka and rugelach, in addition to Strobing’s crown jewel, Million-dollar Cookies, a deep, dark treat made with multiple chocolates and white icing. Other rotating menu items will include cinnamon buns — which Strobing foresees becoming a staple — cheesecake, tarts and miniature-sized desserts that encourage customers to try many, such as a petite Thalhimers layer cake.
“I’ve been baking my entire life; I don't remember a time when I wasn't baking” Strobing says. “I think I was always going to end up here. Here I am about to turn 60, opening my own bakery."
Claudia’s Bake Shop will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday with hours to be announced.
