Heidi Tucker baking scones.Photos courtesy of Annie Minicuci Photography.
Banana chocolate chip muffins, chicken and goat cheese paninis, orange peach smoothies—all are common café menu options.
But at Tucker&Co. Bakery Cafe, the latest place to grab a bite in downtown Dillsburg, there’s a special twist.
All of their items are gluten- and refined sugar-free, from their chocolate chip scones to their homemade coffee syrups. In a town full of pizzerias, this bakery café offers a healthier alternative for patrons.
Since opening in December, owners Heidi and Isaac Tucker have been living out their mission to serve the community food that’s both “nutritious and delicious.”
Move Back
Heidi has struggled with digestive issues since college, and, in 2018, she started experimenting with alternative baking ingredients.
Choosing gluten-free flours and natural sweeteners such as coconut sugar and honey, she created Tucker&Co. as a safe place for those with dietary restrictions.
“We do joke sometimes that the only reason we opened a café was because I wanted a place I could go and have breakfast,” Heidi added.
“A lot of people, when they make a business, it’s usually the thing that they don’t have,” added Jane Tucker, the couple’s 9-year-old daughter, who helps out around the bakery.
Located in the heart of downtown Dillsburg, Tucker&Co. can be found in a renovated, early 20th-century home previously owned by local Jane Alexander, who used the space as her law office. Now known as the “Alexander House,” the bakery café features an original wooden staircase and outdoor mural by Amie Bantz, warmly inviting those wandering by to come in and sit awhile.
As Dillsburg natives and Northern alumni, the Tuckers are familiar with what the area has—and doesn’t have. After graduating from Messiah College in 2009 and briefly moving to Franklin, Tenn., the couple returned inspired by the vitality of small-town Franklin, with hopes to spark the same abundance in their hometown.
“We came back to Dillsburg because we knew we wanted to make the town cool and be a place where we’d want our friends to move back to,” Isaac said.
And the Tuckers are doing more than just selling baked goods.
“We’re trying to help build up the local food economy and support other small business owners,” Heidi said, referring to their retail section where people can purchase local produce, Pennsylvania maple syrup and honey and farm fresh eggs.
They’re also invested in helping the community and, on multiple occasions, have partnered with the Polar Bear Foundation, the nonprofit educational foundation for Northern York County School District, by providing food and space for their events.
“They work incredibly hard, and they work with their hearts,” said Elizabeth Ayers, board member and incoming president of the Polar Bear Foundation. “They want to provide good, healthy food for people, and they want to provide a place for the community to be together.”
Community & Customers
The vision for Tucker&Co. wasn’t always a brick-and-mortar bakery. Their brand began as an event planning company before transitioning to selling baked goods at local farmers markets. Eventually, they developed their own granola line before opening their café.
And now the Tuckers are going back to their roots and making it a point to hold monthly events for the community with open mics, concerts and sold-out trivia nights.
Since February, they’ve held “Tucker Talks” (a play on “Ted Talks”) with new guest speakers and themes each month, such as the foster care system and sustainable farming.
“They’re a free educational thing for our community and to give people a place to share about subjects they’re experts in or passionate about,” Heidi said.
The Tuckers are dreamers and are constantly thinking of new ways to improve Dillsburg. With visions of bookstores and goat farms, they’re looking to partner with like-minded locals to make their goals a reality.
“We cannot do all the good we hope to do with our company without the support of our community and customers,” Heidi said.
Tucker&Co. is located at 148 S. Baltimore St., Dillsburg. For more information, visit www.tuckercobakery.com.
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