August 2025 | Vol. 5 Iss. 8
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T H E
C I T Y
od Special Fo n io Edit
Davis County
Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R
Moonlight Bike Ride
75-year-old cyclist rides despite health issues Page 9
Utah’s fun food traditions
Funeral potatoes and green Jell-O – only in Utah Page 22
Parsons Bakery blends family tradition with made-from-scratch favorites By Gail Newbold | andersennewbold@gmail.com
Mike Parsons continues his family’s baking legacy in Bountiful, rising early to craft handmade pastries and breads with oldschool methods. By 6 a.m., Mike Parsons is a blur of flour and focus – mixing, scoring, and sliding loaves of sourdough into his massive Italian oven. Around him, the bakery hums as his early-rising crew (some clocking in at 3 a.m.) whip up trays of donuts, cookies, cakes, and breads – all before the doors open at 7 a.m. Parsons opened his bakery in 1985, 40 years after his father established the original bakery in Richfield, Utah. His first location was at the now defunct Five Points Mall before he moved to his current location in The Square at 2600, both in Bountiful. With two of his children currently in the business, hopefully the ovens will keep firing for years to come. According to Parsons, many of his father’s recipes are still being used. “I
think my dad made almost every one of the cookies we sell,” said Parsons. “The difference is he used shortening but I use butter. Our Best of State angel food and chiffon cakes are his original made-from-scratch recipes.” Mixed in with his traditional offerings are an ever-evolving array of pastries that keep patrons interested and excited, such as croissants. “My son Nick traveled the world waterskiing and fell in love with European croissants,” Parsons said. “Over time we’ve added traditional croissants, Kouign-amann, morning buns, sticky buns, chocolate croissants, and ham and cheese croissants to our menu. Sourdough bread is another newer item.” His business model, however, stays old school. “We really do use quality ingredients and we’re one of the few sellout bakeries left,” said Parsons. “We try to estimate how much to bake each morning and then go home. At the end of the day, some pastries go on our day-old shelves, others we donate and some get thrown some away
– like donuts. Donuts should be eaten within six hours.” Another way Parsons clings to traditional ways of doing business is his refusal to jump on the delivery bandwagon. He makes an exception for wedding cakes. Otherwise, he expects customers to come to him. And they do. “I have three generations of people coming into the bakery,” he said. “If you have a good, solid product they’ll keep coming back. Food is memories.” Another thing Parsons eschews is franchising. “If you mass produce, you have to cut corners,” he said. “I’ve always been busy enough that I didn’t need to franchise. My father said, ‘Get your business to a point where it’s comfortable but not so big that all Continued page 30 Mike Parsons, owner of Parsons' Bakery, arrives at work at 6 a.m. to make sourdough bread and other pastries. Photo by Gail Newbold
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