Follow Good Roads to Baking Bliss
Story by Barbara Elliott
Photos by Josh Baldwin
Daniel Cannon starts each week by crafting flour, butter, water and salt into 45 pounds of pie dough. By Friday, that mountain of dough has been transformed into delicacies such as spinach feta quiches, sweet and savory hand pies and galettes oozing with fresh fruit. His time in between is spent preparing cookies, brownies, sourdough bread, pastries, homemade pop tarts, pepperoni rolls and focaccia-style pizzas that fly out the door of Good Roads Bakehouse in Frankford during its limited hours of operation on Fridays and Saturdays.
Cannon did not set out to be a baker, and he stresses that he is not a chef. He spent his twenties traveling the west, working seasonally where he could find it. Cannon covered a lot of miles as a tour guide, leading small groups from around the world on road trips around the country. Acting as driver, guide, historian, meal planner, and cook, he enjoyed the responsibility of feeding his guests each night. It wasn’t until he got off the road that he found baking. He learned his craft by trail and error, experimenting with recipes from friends, books and the internet. His first effort, a pineapple upside down cake was a success and one by one his repertoire grew. He gradually learned how to scale the recipes up so that instead of one pie crust, he could make 45 pounds’ worth.
Cannon met his now-fiancé Karri Roberts in Pittsburgh in 2018. The Nicholas County native longed to return her home state and raise chickens. “We thought about other communities in West Virginia, but they weren’t a fit for us. As soon as we saw Greenbrier County, we knew this was it,” Cannon says. They are now enjoying life at the top of Friar’s Hill where Karri raises a menagerie of animals.
Several months after they moved to the area Cannon heard that the former Lowell’s Bakery in Frankford was sitting empty. Pat and Lowell Lewis kindly handed the keys off, and Daniel and Karri got to work on freshening up the bygone community favorite.
“It was a dark red, but we loved the wormy chestnut,” Cannon comments. We have painted it white to brighten the space, and Karri has created most of the artwork.” Karri’s folk art and Cannon’s collection of western and road memorabilia create a welcoming feel where folks are free to enjoy indoor and outdoor seating.
Cannon has also embraced the community. He likes to work with local suppliers, sourcing his meat from Spring Creek Superior Meats, eggs from Dave’s Farm supply and other ingredients from local vendors and grocery stores. ”I am not a production baker,” he explains. “I see this as my work space that I get to open the doors to twice a week. It’s like selling at the Farmer’s Market, but I don’t have to take it there. Everything goes out in paper, not plastic. It’s nice it’s such a small scale. There is a whole lot less waste in the way I’m doing it. Sometimes we have a little extra. Sometimes we run out.”
Operating a virtual one-man bakery week in and week out can be straining, which is why Cannon wants to keep things as simple as possible. He advertises by posting the upcoming specials on the bakery’s Facebook page on Wednesdays, illustrated with mouth-watering photos and whimsical menus drawn by Karri. He spends 5 to 6 hours doing prep on Tuesdays and puts in 10 hour days on Wednesday and Thursdays. “It’s an interesting job, because unlike most people, I’m not winding down on Fridays. Fridays are often at least 12-hour days, and if we are really busy on Friday, I have a lot of work to do for Saturday,” he says. Karri helps out on Fridays, and Tonya Brown runs the counter on Saturdays. Otherwise, except for help from a neighbor who occasionally volunteers to chop vegetables or fold boxes, it’s a one-man show, and he’s happy to keep it that way for now.
Cannon changes up the menu every week. In addition to baked goods he has been known to offer chili, beef stew, pulled pork sandwiches and other hearty fare depending on the season. He only sells his sourdough-crusted pizza on Saturdays and it sold by the slice. His triple ginger snaps and pop tarts are customer favorites. “I don’t like the name pop tarts, but people love them.” Unlike the store-bought version, his feature a fruit preserve filling inside a homemade crust, topped with yummy icing.
Although the location behind an auto garage would appear to be a disadvantage, it has not deterred ardent fans from making their way to Frankford on Fridays and Saturdays. “One woman said our motto should be ‘it’s worth the drive,’” Cannon says. He kept the Good Roads name from his earlier tour venture. It seemed appropriate since the business is just off the scenic and historic Seneca Trail (Highway 219). The folks from Taste of the South magazine have already found their way there. They named Good Roads Bakehouse to their 2022 Taste 50 list.
Good Roads Bakehouse is located at 131 Lewis Lane (across from Frankford Elementary School). It is open on Fridays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-2p.m.
