MAREE and Grant Bolding have been serving up pies, pastries, cakes and bread to the people of Eaglehawk for nearly five decades.
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The pair have run a bakery in Eaglehawk for just shy of 49 years – the first a bakehouse they rented from Maree’s uncle and aunt, Jim and Doreen Pianto, for four years, followed by their own shop just down the road, Bolding’s Bakery.
In the years since it first opened its doors in 1971 the little shop has become one of the Eaglehawk community’s best-loved, but Maree and Grant have decided to call it a day and sell their business.
Maree said that while it was time to move on, she would miss the people who came through their door, telling the Bendigo Advertiser that their customers had become like family to them.
They have regulars who have been buying their baked goods from them for decades.
“It’s wonderful; it’s the best community there is,” Maree said.
“Over the years they’ve been really loyal,” Grant added.
“They’ve supported us, and we’ve supported them too,” Maree said.
“Eaglehawk is the best place.”
Maree said the community had shown wonderful generosity over the years, speaking of the hundreds of meals she collected and took to the devastated Marysville community in the wake of the Black Saturday bushfires as an example.
Likewise, their generosity and passion for Eaglehawk and its residents are among the first things community members raise when asked about Bolding’s Bakery.
Dale Sutcliffe, from Belles and Bows Bridal two doors down, said Maree and Grant were “always so positive and supportive of anyone running a business in Eaglehawk”.
Janet Palfreyman, from Borough Bric-A-Brac, said Maree was “very passionate” about Eaglehawk and Eaglehawk UFS dispensary general manager Jane Hall said they were “very kind-hearted”.
She said Maree was “always good for a laugh”, but was always ready to take action for a good cause.
Tracey Brereton has worked at the bakery with Maree and Grant for 11 years and said it would be very different without them around.
She said she would miss the fun they had and the time they spent together, joking that when they used to close for a month over Christmas, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Maree said she believed the key to the longevity of their shop was the quality of their products, saying they did not cut costs with their ingredients and describing Grant as “an excellent pastry cook”.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed nearly every day of it,” Maree said.
Maree and Grant plan to finish up at the bakery at the end of November and hope to do some travelling.
Maree also wants to put more time into her other job as a funeral celebrant, and volunteer at Eaglehawk Cemetery.