By Jacquelyn Walsh   jwalsh@dnronline.com

Robert Eberly pours pumpkin filling into the Country Village Bakeshop’s homemade pie crusts as Gloria Rhodes (right) hand crimps them. Photo by Jacquelyn Walsh

There are many things universally associated with Thanksgiving meals, but pie may be the star of the dessert table. To be responsible for such a crucial aspect of Thanksgiving is a lot of pressure. But, Robert Eberly, owner and manager of Country Village Bakeshop, takes his role in stride.

In a narrow warehouse in a residential neighborhood in Mount Crawford, the aroma of baked goods drifts out the door where Eberly works with his nine employees, supplying pies year-round throughout the Valley.

But around Thanksgiving and Christmas, business booms, says Eberly. The Bakeshop sells about 300 pies around Thanksgiving, when the most popular choices are apple and pecan pies. During the rest of the year, shoofly and cherry are the most sought after, says Eberly.

A purple binder speckled with filling and dough contains the handwritten recipes of the Bakeshop’s treats, all “made from scratch,” the shop’s motto. The Bakeshop makes its piecrusts from handmade dough which is then hand crimped and covered with homemade fillings.

“Most people say they can taste the difference of a homemade product,” says Eberly. “Our pies contain no preservatives and that’s one reason why they taste different.” The bakery also offers pies with no sugar added.

Vats of pumpkin filling line the tables and sweet treats sit on metal racks tempting visitors with their smell and flaky pastry. Pies, cookies, cinnamon rolls and country biscuits are some of the many baked goods made at the Bakeshop, but during the holidays they focus on pies, says Eberly.

“We get orders as large as 100 pies around Christmas. They’re usually a little smaller at Thanksgiving,” he says.

As a former design engineer with a degree from Virginia Tech, Eberly spent 20 years working for a boss. Now it’s his chance to be the head honcho; but being self-employed can make for a long day, he admits. “It’s a challenge owning my own business but the more effort you put in, the more rewards you get,” says Eberly. “It’s been everything I’ve expected, and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Eberly especially enjoys inventing new products such as cinnamon sourdough bread and a complete line of pound cakes with endless flavors. “Someone will mention ‘Hey, how about we do this?’ or we’ll see a picture in a food magazine and adapt that to what we do here,” he says.

Eberly took over the bakery as its fourth owner 10 years ago. The owners before him, Marjorie Rohrer and Ethel Shank, stuck around after selling the business.

Rohrer stayed about six months and Shank almost five years, says Eberly, who appreciated the “big boost” that got him going.

Although Eberly did expand the Bakeshop, he has avoided making the bakery a standalone shop, saying that he wanted to keep the bakery at a “manageable size.”

Eighty percent of their business is done through the Dayton Farmers’ Market, says Eberly. “When most people think of a bakery they think of working all night long, being here at midnight,” he says. “But because we sell most of our goods at the Dayton Farmers’ Market, we can have normal work hours.”

The other 20 percent are repeat orders and wholesale accounts at restaurants such as Little Grill and Kathy’s Restaurant in Staunton.

“We rely on repeat customers, they are very important,” says Eberly. “Also, the holidays are extremely important to our business, it’s very seasonal.” Forty percent of their profits will come from the three months between October and Christmas, he adds. And now is the time that the shop is getting ready for that busy time of year. “We think we’re ready for it but until we get into it again, we’ve forgotten how busy it can get.”