West Side Market: Vera’s Bakery preserves Cleveland ethnic traditions (photos)

Vera's Bakery has been at the West Side Market for nearly 90 years.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — For nearly 90 years, Vera’s Bakery has been part of the daily rhythm inside the landmark West Side Market on Cleveland’s West Side. Vera’s —likely named after an early and forgotten owner – has been a place where the smell of fresh bread, sweet pastry and soft pretzels has drawn generations of Clevelanders.

Vera's Bakery has been at the West Side Market for nearly 90 years.

Today, the two stands are run by Beth Bowman, who stepped into the business in 2017 after years behind the scenes supplying the space with baked goods.

“I bought the stand when the last owner decided to retire,” she said. “She had it for about 40 years.”

“She never owned a bakery,” Bowman explained. “She had a really great eye for products and would pick out the best things from local bakeries. We used to make things for her.”

When the longtime owner retired, buying the stand felt like a natural next step.

“She was our largest wholesale account,” she said. “Instead of just making and delivering, we decided to take it over.”

The family runs Cleveland Wholesale Baking Co., based in Newbury Township, where they’ve long supplied breads and baked goods to restaurants, hotels and party centers. At one time, the bakery served well-known Cleveland institutions like Corky & Lenny’s and Jack’s Deli & Restaurant.

Vera's Bakery has been at the West Side Market for nearly 90 years.

For years the company also operated two retail locations — one in Newbury and another in Chesterland — but the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered them. Still, the wholesale business and the West Side Market stands continue.

Vera’s two stands are divided between savory breads and sweet pastries.

On the bread side are items like artisan loaves, buns, Kaiser rolls and soft pretzels — including pretzel cheese boats — along with salt and caraway sticks that have been a staple for more than 40 years.

Vera's Bakery has been at the West Side Market for nearly 90 years.

The bakery is especially known for its Hungarian-style breads and its “blossom bread,” a distinctive stuffed, round bread unique to the stand.

Vera's Bakery Russian tea biscuits have different fillings.

There’s also Italian pull-apart bread in six or seven flavors — still made by her mother-in-law — as well as pepperoni bread and beer bread made with an entire can of beer.

On the sweet side, the selection ranges across multiple baking traditions: Rugelach, Russian tea biscuits, Hungarian and French strudel and fruit turnovers.

Nearly everything at the stands is baked overnight.

“We bake at night so it can be delivered before we open,” she said.

Rugelach come one of the many European traditions represented in the bakery.

The stand’s biggest seller is kolaches — soft pastries made from a cream cheese dough and filled with fruit, nuts or sweet cheese.

Nut crispys are one of the most popular items over the years.

Another longtime favorite is the nut crispy. It’s similar to an elephant ear but baked instead of fried. It’s crispy and chewy and has been a staple for 40 years.

Bowman takes pride in preserving the ethnic baking traditions that define Cleveland’s food culture. Jewish, Hungarian, Sicilian and German baking traditions all appear in the display case.

Like many Market stands, the calendar shapes the menu.

Bread Blossoms are popular at Vera's Bakery at the West Side Market.

During holiday seasons, shoppers line up for challah, chocolate babka, Irish soda bread and countless Christmas cookies.

But nothing compares to the frenzy of paczki season.

“It’s madness and so much fun,” Bowman said. For two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday-=which marks the start of the Catholic Lenten season—the stand produces 19 flavors of the Polish pastry, drawing huge crowds of customers.

With renovations underway at the 114-year-old market building, she’s optimistic about its future.

“So far, so good,” she said. “Everything that’s been happening has been a benefit to the people who shop here and the people who work here.”