It was just a sign carrying the words “Fresh Baked Goods” in the Woolworth’s bakery department in Evansville in 1957. Yet to Andrea Miles, it was a shining star. After she saw a photograph of the bakery in the March/April 2012 issue of Evansville Living, the owner of Sweet Bettys Bakery knew she had to have it in her own shop. And when she couldn’t find the original sign, she had it replicated, and even contributed to the labor.
Now, that sign hangs from the ceiling of the dining room of this unique shop at 5600 E. Virginia St. It’s unique because of its inventory — fresh-baked desserts and sugar- and retro-inspired merchandise — and also because of its name.
“When I was baking in Los Angeles, I didn’t think that Andrea was a name that would ring with people,” Miles says, adding that she wanted to create a persona that people were comfortable with. “I wanted something that felt easy and comfortable.”
“My idea was that anyone could be a Betty,” she says. “She is a character to me, a woman who can do anything. She’s got all the talents that you are looking for.”
Miles opened Sweet Bettys Bakery on May 28 with her mother, Shirley Doty, and aunt, Dina Harter, after moving back to Evansville from Los Angeles, where she had worked as a baker for nine years. Miles, a native of Lynnville, decided to open the shop after having some trouble finding employment when she first returned to the Tri-State area.
The bakery has an array of options when it comes to sweets, including cupcakes, cookies, pies, cheesecakes, and brownies. The menu rotates, though Miles’ favorite are always offered: chocolate-chip cookies. It’s a dessert she’s spent 11 years perfecting.
Sweets that have rotated through the case are the dreamsicle cupcake, chocolate-chip cupcakes, salted caramel cupcakes, and double-chocolate chip cookies, to name just a few.
The bakery is unique in its goodies and in its style. Miles had a vision of what she wanted, and she made sure it was executed accordingly.
“It goes 1940s, 1950s, 1960s — it’s sort of all over the place,” says Miles. “It’s just an eclectic mix of everything that makes me happy.”
For more information, call 812-402-3889 or visit sweetbettysbakery.com. Follow Sweet Bettys Bakery on Facebook for its daily menu posts.
