Quack’s Bakery {Protecting a Legacy}

Words by Gaudalupe Triana photos by Shelby Bella

Standing the Test of Time

For more than 37 years, Quack’s Bakery has served up budget-friendly baked goods to the Austin community. Now, the company is strengthening the legacy it’s worked hard to build.

Since 1983, Quack’s has been fueling Austinites with its tasty sweets, strong coffee, and delicious pastries. Today, Quack’s is more than just a recognized name in the community; it’s a business that has become part of the fabric that makes Austin unique.

“Our number one core value is to provide quality baked goods at reasonable prices—always,” says chief operations officer Heather O’Connor. Heather’s been with the company for nine years now and has been instrumental in the expansion of Quack’s growth.

She passionately explains that Quack’s doesn’t do things with the grain, which can prove challenging at times, but allows the company to stand out nonetheless.

“We’re not a necessity; we’re budgeted for,” Heather says with a smile. “Coffee, pastries, and sweets—[they’re] not something that people have to have. They’re a treat, so we need to approach it as such.”

In the last few years, Heather explains that she hasn’t been to an establishment that ranges between fast food prices and $20 a person. As a savvy person, she believes that there is a large lack in quality eateries at reasonable prices. “I’ve been in Austin for a decade, and I’ve [observed] the way the food scene and the food culture have shifted,” Heather explains. “We’ve started losing a lot of really big legacy companies.”

But there’s a reason Quack’s continues to thrive. Heather attributes their success to the transparency-based philosophy that the company has adhered to since its early days.

“We take the same approach with our staff. We try to remain open, transparent, honest, and welcoming,” she emphasizes. “We trust people to come as they are.” She believes that as a business, if you take care of your staff, they’re going to take care of your guests.

Quack’s founder Art Silver remains steadfast in his mission to offer quality products at reasonable prices. At 77 years old, Art still works seven days a week, proving he’s in it for the long haul.

According to Heather, Art wants Quack’s to be remembered as a great place to work with a product that people can afford. Once the team established this concept as a concrete goal, they began building their entire foundation for expansion around the idea.

Today, Quack’s fanatics can choose between three locations: Quack’s 43rd Street Bakery, Lady Quackenbush’s Cakery in Mueller, or Captain Quackenbush’s Coffeehouse in South Austin. While all three locations offer the same delectable treats, each space has a distinct purpose and is special in its own way.

Native Knowledge
With COVID changing the way Austinites dine out, Lady Quackenbush’s Cakery is offering customers a new way of enjoying the dining-out experience. The bakery is offering picnic baskets that come with a blanket, two sandwiches, two pastries, two coffee drinks, and two alcoholic beverages that can be picked up at their East Austin location and enjoyed at Mueller Lake Park, or anywhere else!

Contact:
Bakery@QuacksBakery.com
East: 1900 Simond Ave. Ste. 300
Central: 411 East 43rd St.
South: 5326 Menchaca Rd.
QuacksBakery.com
@LadyQuacksCakery
@QuacksBakery