Ninth Street Bakery

What it is: Want to give your young'uns a little treat without popping into a fast-food joint or a mall? This is just the hole-in-the-wall for you. A number of local grocery stores carry the breads from Ninth Street Bakery, but production is no longer on Ninth Street but right smack in the middle of downtown Durham, at the intersection of "Five Points". The entrance may look like just a loading dock, but inside you'll get to see the real bakery, which specializes in organic whole grain breads, and also offers the most amazing cookies anywhere. There are just a few tables and chairs for patrons, so it's not exactly a child-friendly destination, though my girls feel very grown-up sitting properly for silent cookie-eating. The three of us split a single (huge) cookie for $1.75 to celebrate good days. And of course there's nothing wrong with grabbing a quick healthy locally-made loaf for dinner too.

What we like: our favorite is the peanut choc-chip cookie, though the double-choc-chip is of course deadly too. The oatmeal-raisin is a little too bland for our taste.

What we would change: Finding the entrance the first time can be a trick: really? There's a bakery coffee shop in there? At the five-points intersections of East Chapel Hill, West Main and Morris Streets, the Bakery building forms the pointiest corner. The seating area is clearly geared for the in-and-out downtown lunch crowd, so it could use a couple high-chairs and maybe some kids' books. But it is a cheaper alternative to ice cream or popsicle places, and you'll be in-and-out yourself.





Website and other important information:

Website: http://www.ninthstbakery.com/

Address: 136 East Chapel Hill St., Durham, NC 27701, (919) 688-5606

Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-4pm

Photos: 

 1. The entrance

2. The goodies!