Flour Power
Baked goods come with good company at Thompson’s Flour Shop — since 1994 B Y CA ROLYN SHA PIRO • shapiro@sevendaysvt.com
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SEVEN DAYS SEPTEMBER 15-22, 2021
PHOTOS: JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR
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n a day in late August, lunch customers streamed into Thompson’s Flour Shop for sandwiches on the Morrisville restaurant’s signature home-baked bread. Most of them were as eager to inquire about the newest member of the Thompson family as they were to get their meal. Ryan Thompson, daughter of the shop’s owner, took orders at the front counter with a wide smile and an attitude of steady cheer. “She’s a little meatball,” she said of the aforementioned new arrival — her 5-month-old daughter, Hunter, who had come to work with her that day and was in the kitchen under the watchful eyes of Thompson’s staff. Ryan, 35, took equal interest in each familiar face to arrive at the counter. “You’re huge!” she exclaimed to a teen who had come in with his family. “You’re so tall.” The freshly baked bread and pastries aren’t the only homestyle offerings at Thompson’s, a mainstay of the Morrisville community. Located on a bend of Lower Main Street in the village center, the shop is folksy and warm, with old-fashioned charm oozing from its nooks and crannies like the frosting on its cinnamon rolls. It’s no wonder Thompson’s has engendered the devotion of diners near and far. “It’s not the greatest bread in the world, but there’s something about two hours out of the oven,” said Ryan’s dad, Keith Thompson, who cofounded Thompson’s Flour Shop 27 years ago. Many customers would argue that he sells Thompson’s short. They line up for the restaurant’s hearty selection of salads, soups, daily specials, and breakfast and lunch sandwiches. Each of the latter comes with chips, a drink and a homemade cookie. The pastry case tempts with scones, croissants, turnovers and muffins that taste as good as they look. Thompson’s closes at 2:30 p.m., but customers looking for dinner can grab a take-and-bake pot pie from the freezers in the dining room. The bread is cut thick, but it’s soft and airy. In the curried chicken salad sandwich I tried, it held the main attraction tight against the lettuce and tomato. The honey oat bread brought out a slight sweetness in the chicken salad, which was light on spice and studded with grapes and almonds.
The Pilgrim turkey sandwich and a cookie at Thompson’s Flour Shop
“I’m not a chef. I’m not classically trained. But I’ve been in the restaurant business a long time,” Keith said. “The bottom line is: It’s really to make money.” Some restaurants emphasize the “artistic, creative side” of food, he said. “That’s not who we are. What we are is: You’re going to come in; you’re going to be paying a reasonable price for a reasonable product. It’s not the best; it’s not the worst. It’s going to be consistent, you know, every time you come in. And we’re going to do it with pleasure.” Keith didn’t start out with a plan to get into the bakery business. He was raised in Boston and moved to Vermont with his now ex-wife, Kathy, in 1983. They both worked as restaurant servers, but after their three children came along, they began looking for extra income. One day, Keith brought some of his wife’s home-baked bread to the chef at the Shed Restaurant & Brewery in Stowe, where he worked. The chef loved the idea of offering locally made rolls, and Keith saw a niche to fill. From their home kitchen, the
Thompsons began supplying rolls and bread to the Shed and other restaurants. Soon they were baking for and delivering to individual customers. In 1994, the couple started renting a space in Morrisville for $500 a month. An $11,000 loan from Union Bank bought them equipment for a bakery and a retail storefront they dubbed Thompson’s Flour Shop. “We made money from day one,” Keith said. “We never owed too much. I think one of the problems with restaurants nowadays is a huge debt.” Keith and his wife added a Thompson’s Flour Shop in Stowe a few years later, changing its location in 2002, but they found it challenging to operate there and closed it in 2012. Keith revels in Thompson’s success, but he’s not sentimental about it. Now 66, he said he’s looking forward to leaving the business to Ryan and her brother Zachary. But his succession plan isn’t based on any nostalgic desire to see the business carry on his family name. His focus is on the financials. If he sold
to an outside buyer, Keith said, he couldn’t get the price he thinks Thompson’s is worth. Most banks are loath to lend money to restaurants because so many fail. To complete such a sale, Keith would have to front the money himself to the buyer, who would then owe him payments. If the new owner let things slide, “then they go out of business, and I’ve just lost everything I worked for,” he said. By passing the business to his kids, he’s giving them a guaranteed income and the power of ownership. And they can keep Keith on the payroll. “So they don’t have to borrow any money,” Keith said. “There’s nothing hanging over them, so this business goes to the next generation with no debt service, with Keith getting a little piece of the action. And I’m also a resource for them whenever they need me.” Zachary, 31, stays in the back of the kitchen, baking and crafting menus, while Ryan works the front and handles customer service. Another son works in the tech industry in Boston. “This is my family’s business,” Ryan