Coffee Time Bake Shop

Coffee Time Bake Shop is a family-owned bakery and coffee shop in Salem that has served the North Shore for more than 30 years. Baker-owned, it is known for Real Cream Bismarks, fresh egg eclairs, strawberry shortcake, hand-cut donuts, paczki and apple cider donuts, along with cakes, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, coffee and specialty beverages. The shop calls itself a bit old school but keeps evolving toward more scratch-made bakery foods, breakfast sandwiches, cakes and interesting drinks.

The story began in 1978, when the owner and the owner’s late brother Joe, with help from their parents, bought the Donut Ring shops in Salem and Peabody after working for a major donut chain. Family pitched in: their father kept the books for free and a grandmother sewed the crew’s smocks. In 1988 the siblings split, and the Bridge Street store was renamed Coffee Time Bake Shop and began shifting toward a bakery, adding Real Cream Bismarks and later cakes.

What to Know

• The building was once a Mr. Donut shop, which explains its old gullwing entrance.
• Much of the dairy comes from Dunajski Dairy in Peabody.
• Straws and small hot cups are compostable, and the shop buys 100% renewable electricity.
• Food waste is composted through Black Earth Compost, and cardboard is recycled.
• Many local high school and college students have worked at the shop, including the owner’s own children.