Crowded Saturday mornings at Yori’s Church Street Bakery in West Chester are a pretty good indication that the borough has missed having its very own bakeshop—really missed it. And for good reason: Until the place opened this past July, there hadn’t been an old-school bakery in the borough for almost 20 years.
Thank David Yori, who, at the tender age of 25, has capitalized on a void many of us had learned to live with. Inside the shop, cases of pies, cakes, Danish, French pastries, doughnuts, brownies and cookies are an immediate temptation. Yori, who refers to himself as a baker rather than a pastry chef, comes by his bona fides honestly. He’s worked in bakeries since the age of 15, first as a student at Marple Newtown High School and later as an undergrad at West Chester University, where he earned his business administration degree. His selection reflects a passion for old and new.
For breakfast, light, flavorful doughnuts share space with glazed sweet rolls (topped with raisins or pecans), generous squares of crumb cake, and iced cinnamon rolls. Wonders of buttery indulgence, his Danish pastries come with the typical fillings—cheese, cherry, cinnamon and apple.
But it’s French-style baked goods that raise the bar far above what’s typically been available in West Chester—especially the pastry horns, lady locks, pig’s ears and éclairs. And Yori’s desserts—which run the gamut from the expected (brownies, cupcakes, fruit pies, lemon squares and cookies) to the more surprising (cannoli, linzer tortes and turnovers)—are an experience in themselves.
Yori’s doubles as a full-service cake shop, offering a variety of special-occasion designs and custom decorating work.
15 N. Church St., West Chester; (610) 344-9674, yorisbakery.com.
