Wednesday, December 20, 2000
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Wednesday, December 20, 2000 |
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Filling a need By PAT
NEWMAN A futile search for real bakery-made coffee cake is the life-altering event that prompted Anthony and Marlene Ragozzine to open Break of Day, Bakery and Cafe Inc. in Peachtree City. "We drove north, east, south and west looking for a place to have some coffee cake," recalled Ragozzine, who had grown up with the neighborhood bakery in Youngstown, Ohio. The couple finally found a tasty substitute at City Cafe in Fayetteville, but were still confounded that there was no corner-style bakery/coffee shop around. That's when the Ragozzines decided to start their own. At the time, Anthony was an executive chef at the Northwest Marriott in Atlanta and Marlene was an experienced retail manager. Married for just two-and-a-half years, the couple pinpointed a desirable location for their business, and as fate would have it, the spot was targeted for development as a small retail center. Break of Day opened its doors Nov. 17 and has already developed a customer following so loyal that a roll has been named after one of the "regulars." "Marty's hard rolls" are a staple item in the bakery, named after Marty, a local retiree who loves good crusty breads commonly found "up north." Break of Day offers a wide selection of fresh baked goods including breakfast breads, rustic and grain breads and confections like cheese cakes, cookies, cream horns and fruit pies. "Our quality speaks for itself," Ragozzine said. All the breads are made fresh daily and Ragozzine, who is a professional pastry chef, personally decorates each and every confection. Personal touches abound at Break of Day, with the interior painted and stenciled by Marlene in soothing peach tones. "Painting has a calming effect on me," she said. Small tables set with coffee mugs are arranged in front of brightly lit cases of bakery products displayed attractively in baskets. Open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, the establishment features a lunch menu offering soups, salads and sandwiches. In addition to the regular tossed salad ($3.95) and chicken noodle soup ($3.95), the Ragozzines feature a marinated tuna steak salad ($7.95) that combines grilled tuna, mixed greens, diced tomatoes and roasted whole kernel corn with grain mustard vinaigrette and the Atlanta Cobb Salad ($8.95) which serves up rows of diced ham, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, bacon bits, diced turkey breast and crumbled eggs on mixed greens with sun dried tomato basil vinaigrette. Sandwiches run the gamut from a classic pumpernickel reuben ($6.95) to a pesto chicken ciabatta, a marinated grilled chicken breast with sliced Roma tomatoes, melted mozzarella cheese and pesto mayonnaise ($7.50). Break of Day is on Ga. Highway 74 almost at the corner of Wisdom Road, about a mile north of the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74.
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