Near the railroad tracks and grain elevators of tiny Bailey (less than one square mile), the Bailey Café sits between a storefront church and a florist. In a space that once housed a farmers’ mercantile, local resident Roddie Hancock has filled the wooden shelves with his personal teapot collection of more than 1,000 pieces. And from the kitchen, he and his staff prepare everything from collard greens and fried frog legs to an array of fresh cakes and pastries. “Everybody was making bets that we wouldn’t succeed, but here we are,” Hancock says. A sign for the cafe on nearby Interstate 95 helps, and so do the shelves of cakes, from carrot to Hershey bar to cherry-caramel delight. “You can’t get some of these anywhere else,” Hancock says. He and his staff also make deep pans of banana pudding and fry up “Jacks” turnovers, filled with flavors like apple, peach, and sweet potato, that customers can take on the go. A crepe dish, which Bailey calls the “Hancock special,” is a rolled and fried crepe with sweetened cream cheese, fruit topping, and whipped cream. “With that one, you don’t need ice cream,” he says, laughing.

Bailey Café
12544 Hanover Street, Bailey, N.C. 27807
(252) 235-2767
baileycafe.com

Visit the rest of the delectable independent, local bakeries in Our State‘s North Carolina dessert tour:
The Sisters McMullen
Mountain Pie Company
Jimmie’s Sweets
Rosebriar
Hayes Barton Café & Dessertery
Bread of Heaven Bakery
Cheesecakes by Alex
Paul’s Pastry Shop
Seaside Cheesecake Dessert Shoppe
Savannah Red
The Bakehouse
Sugar on Front Street