Grant’s Bakery

Good old-​fashioned New England bakery. Doesn’t have the all-​natural vibe of, say, Ceres bakery in Portsmouth. It’s more prosaic than that.
But the whoopie pies, bismarks, crème horns are all delicious. And VERY reasonably priced. Like the kind of bakeries that were around in New England when I was a kid.
You should stop by Grant’s if you can.
Recommended.

Where do I start with Grant’s Bakery? Well they have been around longer than I have and despite their small appearance from the street their selection of items is quite plentiful. Every year for Christmas we get our meat pies from here, and if you don’t know what that is you have to buy one and try it, because it’s a Franco-​american favorite. The have specials throughout the week and the bean supper special is great. Some of the best beans around and for a very reasonable price.
If you have that sweet tooth they offer several options to take care of that craving and they can even build a cake your specifications. When you walk in you will smell all the baking goodness and that will definitely make you want to go back for more. Grant’s has become a Lewiston staple and will be here for more decades to come.

There products are superior and reasonably priced. They make down to the earth great tasting pies, beans, cakes, pies, breads, coffee, etc. If you want something special they can make it. Also they provide wedding cake services as well. They are amazing.

Whether or not you grew up in a French Canadian family, I think all Mainers can identify with the term «bean supper». On any given Saturday night in the state of Maine, for under $ 10, you can partake of this weekly ritual in any manner of public suppers hosted by churches of all denominations that typically feature beans baked in a zesty concoction of molasses, salt pork, onions, ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire sauce to name the star ingredients. Along with the beans as the centerpiece, you’ll most likely find a tubular meat product, a fibrous crunchy slaw and an endless suppl y of rolls and/​or brown bread. The downside of such a feast is that well, um, there’s an awful lot of fiber being ingested that makes the intestinal tract overworked which results in a heckuva lot of flatulence. I know, TMI, but you should prepare by ingesting BEANO before you eat.
In my particular home experience, I routinely looked forward to my mother’s simple feast of baked pea beans, brown bread from a B&M can (sometimes homemade biscuits), homemade coleslaw and, it goes without saying, red hot dogs. It’s one of the cheapest meals a family living on a budget can enjoy.
Grant’s Bakery looks, on the surface, as a typical throwback bakery — not a fancy-​schmancy one like you’ll find in Portland but just an honest array of breakfast pastries, as well as cakes and cookies. The interior is straightforward with glass cases housing the baked goods including another Maine staple, the Whoopie Pie. On this brisk but sunny December morning, I finally got the chance to sample the fare and the lovely young woman at the counter happily indulged my fantasies of fevès au lard and tourtière (pork pie).
She welcomed me as a new customer when I had that «deer-​in-​headlights» look about me. Needless to say, I went in for a couple of donuts and came out bearing a brown sack filled with a quart of baked pea beans, a bag of hotdogs (red of course), a pint of cole slaw, two pastries, and a frozen meat pie. And a coffee with 2 squirts of pumpkin pie syrup.
I bypassed the tempting roasted cashews, glanced at the freezerful of Shain’s of Maine ice cream but made a beeline for the counter. As was mentioned by another Unilocaler, Grant’s posts specials each day. Today «bean» Saturday, the beans were brewing in their stainless-​steel pots. Six varieties — kidney, pea, Jacob’s cattle. I can’t remember the others. I asked for the sweetest one which was the pea. As she was ladling the beans into the cardboard container, she made sure I got a whole onion as well as the bits of salt pork that gives the beans their oomph. She also loaded me up with a calendar, a menu and, I think, a newsletter. She guided me towards the freezer where there were several pork pies (tourtière). I don’t know what possessed me to buy one of those but I figured I needed one on hand «just in case». Then it dawned on me to thank my mother for all of her wonderful meals and give this to her for Christmas.
Now, I am not convinced this is the tastiest coleslaw I’ve ever had — at least I don’t detect the unpleasant flavor of celery seeds/​salt in the coleslaw. I like mine tons more onion-​y and a bit sweeter. So far the best recipe I’ve come across is from Brother Juniper’s cookbook from the mid-​1990s. I think this is one of the most thorough and well-​written cookbooks out there but it is out of print so your best bet is to buy it on Amazon. The Cole slaw recipe is super simple and you’ll be amazed at the results.

I grew up in a French Canadian family. For those of you who don’t know our culture, every Saturday we had bean suppers and they usually came from Grant’s (when we weren’t supporting a local church). Pea beans with salt pork, brown bread, coleslaw, and pastries for dessert were one of my youth’s defining meals.
My stomach is growling just thinking about all of that.
To this day, Grant’s is one of my favorite things about the Lewiston/​Auburn area, because… not much has changed. While the faces working the counter may have, their daily specials, their perfect pastries, their look, their smell, their prices… every thing is pretty much exactly the way it was twenty years ago. In this day and age you’ve gotta appreciate that sort of consistency and reliability in a bakery. Plus, kudos to L/​A for keeping a mom and pop store like this in business over the years! Now run by second and third generation Grant’s, they truly are a staple in this community.
Enough fluff, Steff. What’s the REAL reason you go here, little piggy?
The coleslaw.
Grant’s has THE BEST coleslaw I’ve EVER had in my ENTIRE LIFE. I drive an hour out of my way to get some. And before I moved out of the L/​A area I went on a Grant’s coleslaw binger. I’m not proud of that, but it is what it is. I’ve just never tasted cabbage, carrots, mayo, sugar, and salt come together the way Grant’s makes it.
I’m also a sucker for their eclairs. Generally speaking, I don’t really do eclairs. But there’s something about the Grant’s ones (especially after they’ve been sitting in the fridge for a couple hours). The choux dough is flaky and tender, the cream in the center is silky and flavorful, and the chocolate icing is rich. With an iced coffee, after eating one I feel invincible. Yes, you read it here first: their eclairs make me feel like I could take on the world.
If you’re interested, Grant’s daily specials include:
Wednesday — Hot Meat Pies and ½ Price Bread (buy a loaf at regular price, get a second loaf of equal or lesser value for half off)
Thursday — Hot Chicken Pies
Friday — Hot Salmon Pies and Mac & Cheese
Saturday — Hot Bakes Beans (available in pea, cholesterol-​free pea [and vegetarian], yellow eye, red kidney, or Jacob’s cattle)
And recently they started making a new flavor of whoopie pie each month. When I went this morning, they were phasing out the margarita whoopie pies and getting ready for peanut butter and jelly ones (I assume because school’s starting). Who knows what they’ll have by the time you read this, but I would definitely find out if I were you!

I stumbled on to this local bakey while passing through Lewiston and I’m glad I did! They have a great selection of baked goods, pastries, cookies, cakes/​cupcakes, and roasted nuts… and the staff was very friendly.

This bakery has been around for a very long time and is still one of THE best places. I grew up going to this place when it was on College Street and still stop in each time I visit. However, now I come with a big order since I have all my friends hooked on this place. Yes there are bakeries all over but the stuff from the bakery at grocery stores are different.
They have cakes, pies, and lots of goodies like Whoopie pies, cream horns, cookies, éclairs and more. Everything is baked fresh and I’ve called to place an order and they’ve made it up fresh for me. The fruit turnovers are great. Small crescent shapes filled with your choice of Blueberry, Raspberry, Apple which they mark with a letter on the top so you know when you pick up the B you are biting into Blueberry.
I use to come back with a few things and my friends would try some things. Before I knew it I was bringing back an order for each of them. With bags of goodies over $ 100 people thought I was wacky. Little did they know it wasn’t all for me.
Saturday’s is bean day so you can get salt pork and your choice of beans with brown bread.
You can also place an order and have them ship certain things so this could be a nice surprise goodie package for those you love.
Don’t forget the Molasses cookies. They are soooo yummy!