Author’s Note: Running, walking, biking or a similar forms of “foot powered transportation” is a great way to check out a new city or even see your home town from a new perspective. When I travel, almost every morning I get up earlier than I would at home, and go for a run. While fitness may be the initial motivation, “on foot” exploration allows me to get close to a waterfront, go the opposite direction down a one-way side street in a city, even stumble upon a hidden historical site, all of which may be interesting and even help determine activities later in the day. But it did not take work travel or an exotic trip to re-discover a hidden gem in plain sight in Chatham.
With a Ragnar Trail Vermont relay race just days away, I needed to squeeze in a long run to gauge strength and stamina to determine my confidence level before tackling Mt. Ascutney in central Vermont. Aiming for 6+ miles, I made up a haphazard loop from Ridgevale Beach, to Cockle Cove to the Old Colony Rail Trail west toward Harwich, followed by a u-turn back towards Chatham Municipal Airport. The final stretch would take me past Chatham’s Old Schoolhouse Ice Cream towards Sam Ryder Road.
As I emerged out of the tree covered trail, a sudden scent of cinnamon sugar hit my face; kind of like when the smell of someone grilling wafts through the air. I knew the sweet smell was not the nearby Chatham Transfer Station. In my hot, sweaty, tired mess, I realized that the smell was none other than Marion’s Pie Shop, but also that I had not visited the bakery in quite some time. Now, I’m the kind of person that tends to take signs in nature or odd coincidences as a hint to do something. In this case, the sweet air was a sign to pay homage to Marion’s Pie Shop. (Admittedly, this is not a big ask as it is down the road from the house and already has quite the reputation.) The smell of what could only be a cinnamon nut roll that helped me power through the final incline of the run got stronger as I approached the shop.
If you are not familiar with the area, Marion’s Pie Shop is the only restaurant along a fairly long residential stretch of Route 28 in West Chatham. It was not always this way. The former Ridgevale Restaurant, with the beautifully polished white 1930s Rolls Royce parked in front, use to be next to Marion’s toward Ridgevale Road (townhouses are now there) and former Flemings Seafood Restaurant, was a little further down Route 28 closer to Cockle Cove Road (a conservation area/park is there now). There also use to be another motel across from Marion’s to complement the nearby Seafarer Inn. Fortunately, Chatham Pottery and an art gallery are the other commercial “anchor tenants” in the area of what I playfully call, the Ridgevale Road Business Association. The walkability of these businesses is a great benefit of living in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, this run was a 6:30am start, so Marion’s Pie Shop was not yet open when I rolled up around 7:30am. As I stepped through the open door, a polite college-aged youngster, likely a seasonal employee said, “Sorry, we open at 8:00 a.m.” That was fine considering my sweaty state. After some small talk, what did surprise me was his answer when I asked him about what kind of coffee they had available. The muted response was, “just the Keurig,” Ugh! For this bakery with such a huge following, those sweet heavenly smells, comfy outdoor seating, charming broken seashell driveway, it’s hard to believe “just the Keurig” was the answer. Especially with all the local coffee roasters such as Beanstock (Wellfleet), the Art of Roasting (Chatham) fighting to get playing time in our morning routines. Indeed, the coffee culture is strong (coffee pun intended) on the Cape (albeit, a bit snobby), but like wine, “Life is too short to drink bad coffee!”
The first attempt to taste, not just smell, Marion’s sugary goodness, was a big fail. By the time I got back to the house, showered, figured out the plan of the day, I returned to learn they were out of almost every freshly baked breakfast item. And I didn’t feel like a spinach croissant. Fortunately, that was Saturday, and on Sunday, I arrived by 8:00am and grabbed a wild blueberry muffin (and for fun, the Chatham muffin, the latter being basically baked sugar in muffin form. I recommend splitting the Chatham muffin with at least one other person!) The wild blueberry muffin was delicious, still warm from the oven, perfect portion and did not need to be toasted or smothered with butter. It was an easy reminder why this neighborhood bakery has stood the test of time. And if you were wondering, the bakery was started (by Marion) in 1947, and the current owners, Cindy and Blake Stearns, continued her tradition since 2003.