The town of Erwin, Tennessee now has a new place to eat! The Garden Basket, a bakery/eatery opened on Nov. 1.
The bakery is owned and run by Heather Higgins and her daughter Kirsten Phillips, who is a senior at Milligan. According to Phillips, they came up with the name, The Garden Basket, because they wanted to give Erwin a place that served fresh, non-fried food, and they thought The Garden Basket reflected that message.
The Garden Basket serves not only baked goods and sweets, but they are a bakery/bistro hybrid, serving soups, sandwiches, homemade breads and a variety of desserts. Most of their menu items are made from scratch.
Owning a bakery has been a lifelong dream of Higgins’s so she was excited when she finally got the chance. “Opening a bakery has been something I’ve wanted since I was little,” she said. “I love baking and seeing people light up when they try something I’ve made.”
Higgins talked about what all went into starting a bakery. She said there were the obvious tasks such as renovations, decorating and buying plates, tables and groceries. Then there were the more challenging tasks like deciding on and preparing the entire menu. “Most of our items are made from scratch, and we also wanted to offer desserts for people with food sensitivities,” she said.
Higgins also talked about her hopes for the bakery. “My expectation is to get to do something I love every day,” she said, “and to inspire other entrepreneurs in our community to take a chance on their dreams.”
Phillips helps her mother run the bakery by baking, cooking, waiting on people and anything else that is needed. She is thrilled about the bakery and helping her mom. “We are a mother/daughter team, and I am excited to have the opportunity to help my mom finally live her dream.”
The Garden Basket celebrated their opening Nov. 1 and 2. The opening aligned with downtown Erwin’s event, Wings and Stings, which gave people another opportunity to eat. They hoped that people who attended Wings and Strings would stop in and try some food. Phillips said that they plan on participating in all future downtown Erwin events.
The Garden Basket is located at 290 Union Street, in Erwin. They are open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They hope people will come try some of their food or desserts (or both).
Headline photo: The Garden Basket opened this past weekend in Erwin, Tennessee.