VERMILLION, S.D. (KELO) — Mister Smith’s Bakery in Vermillion, South Dakota is known for its variety of homemade baked goods, but there’s a twist- it’s located inside of the Ace Hardware store.
“A lot of people don’t expect that. They come in and they’re just like there’s a sandwich shop in here?” Mister Smith’s cook Carl Smith said.
Freshly baked bread, sandwiches of every kind, even homemade cakes are just a few things you’ll find on the menu.
It all started when Larry Smith moved to town in the early 2000s, shortly after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Everyone knew him for his recipes, and he was offered a bread-baking job at a local sandwich shop, later named Mister Smith’s in his honor.
His local customers weren’t the only ones blown away by his talent.
“Larry used to be a police officer in Connecticut, and once he retired from the police force, he started tinkering with baking breads,” Mister Smith’s manager Cole Larson said. “He worked part time at a bakery in Connecticut, which is evidently how he and Oprah crossed paths. That’s how he ended up having Oprah’s best bread in America.”
For 20 years now, those recipes have brought in customers from across town and the country. Many say the bread is the heart of what makes Mister Smith’s so special.
“We have a group of retired farmers and those guys that are here right at seven, when we open up in the morning. They’re generally kind of banging the door down. By 6:55, you’d think we were lined for a concert or something,” Cole Larson said.
Being located inside of another store hasn’t slowed business down. In fact, staff said it’s grown it.
“We actually have a lot of construction crews that come through now because they were here earlier in the morning picking up something they needed for a job. They looked over, smelled the food, saw us and were like, ‘Oh, I guess we’ll just come back for lunch’,” Cole Larson said.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bakery’s doors remained open.
Manager Cole Larson, baker Erin Larson and cook Carl Smith all worked with Larry for some time.
“He’d like to dance and talk and we would dance in the bakery and stuff,” Erin Larson said.
Even when Larry’s Parkinson’s started to affect him physically, his friends were there, to help him continue his passion safely.
“We had safety bars to try and just keep him up,” Erin Larson said.
Larry passed away a few years ago from Parkinson’s disease, but his lifelong legacy of devotion continues. The holes from the safety rails to hold him up are still drilled into the counter and his hat still hangs in the bakery.
“He’s looking down on us,” Erin Larson said.
“I had a lot of good conversations with him. You know, he was a great guy to work with, just like everybody else said,” Carl Smith said.
“We were fortunate enough to get all of his recipes written down before because he was a scratch baker that did everything by eye and feel,” Cole Larson said.
A story behind each recipe, a passion behind each batch and a community- all inside of a small-town hardware store.
“It’s a one stop shop. If you need a hammer, you can get that. You need a baguette? We can get that too,” Erin Larson said.
Mister Smith’s celebrates 20 years of business in October. The business also offers catering options for customers.
