Slaton Bakery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Back in 1921, two bakeries set up shop, Blue Ribbon Bakery and City Bakery. Now, two bakeries in the same town is a fine thing, competition keeps everybody honest, but by 1923 those two had decided the world was big enough to work together, and they consolidated.

Two years later, by 1925, this operation had a proper name to hang on the door: Slaton Baking Company. That name had weight to it. That name said we are here, and we mean to stay.

Then came 1943, and the Wilson family purchased the business. And here's where the story gets its spine, because the Wilsons didn't walk into easy times. World War II had rationing bearing down on every baker in the country, flour, sugar, the things a bakery runs on.

The Wilsons overcame it. They kept the ovens going, kept the shelves stocked, kept a thriving business right through the hard years. When the war was done, Slaton Bakery had something to show for it.

They introduced sliced hamburger and hot dog buns to the whole area, something nobody around there had seen done that way before. They distributed Mrs. Baird's products and kept producing pastries made right on site.

And then, because a good bakery never stops learning, they added homemade flour tortillas to the menu. In 1982 the business moved to its present location. Today, Slaton Bakery stands as a community institution and one of the oldest still-operating bakeries in the entire state of Texas.

Started from two little shops in 1921, and it's still putting bread on the table. That's not luck, friend. That's dough.

What the marker says

SLATON BAKERY IN 1923, BLUE RIBBON BAKERY AND CITY BAKERY, EACH OF WHICH HAD OPENED IN 1921, CONSOLIDATED. BY 1925, THIS ESTABLISHMENT WAS KNOWN AS SLATON BAKING COMPANY. IN 1943, THE WILSON FAMILY PURCHASED THE BUSINESS. THE WILSONS OVERCAME RATIONING DURING WORLD WAR II TO CONTINUE A THRIVING BUSINESS. SLATON BAKERY INTRODUCED SLICED HAMBURGER AND HOT DOG BUNS TO THE AREA, AND DISTRIBUTED MRS. BAIRD'S PRODUCTS WHILE CONTINUING TO PRODUCE PASTRIES MADE ON SITE. THE BAKERY LATER ADDED HOMEMADE FLOUR TORTILLAS TO THEIR MENU. IN 1982, THE BUSINESS MOVED TO ITS PRESENT LOCATION. TODAY, SLATON BAKERY IS A COMMUNITY INSTITUTION, AND CONTINUES AS ONE OF THE OLDEST STILL-OPERATING BAKERIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. (2009)