Wendy Lewis learned how to bake in her grandmother’s home. photograph by Tim Robison
Editor’s Note (October 2024): We love and celebrate our mountain communities; however, following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, many areas remain inaccessible for travel. Please check DriveNC.gov’s travel map for the latest on traveling to these areas.
Wendy and Jerry Lewis were enjoying a quiet afternoon on their front porch in Old Fort with Wendy’s grandmother Mary Golden Piercy, affectionately known as “Gogo.” The only sound they heard was the breeze rustling their potted ferns — that is, until Jerry’s phone suddenly sang with notifications. Earlier that day, Jerry had posted a photo of Wendy’s first batch of cinnamon rolls for sale. She had begun baking as a hobby during the pandemic after being furloughed from her food service job at Montreat College.
“What are all those dings for?” Wendy remembers asking. “Jerry just grinned at me and said, ‘They’re orders.’”
Wendy grew up baking with her grandmother in the same kitchen where she started filling those first orders. When Wendy was a girl, Gogo’s husband was an engineer who worked on the railroad just down the road from their faded yellow house. True to her sweet nature, when Gogo discovered that men hitching rides on her husband’s locomotives didn’t have warm meals, she began fixing them breakfast. “It just became a part of her life to feed these men,” Wendy says.
She serves her customers at Gogo’s treats like a maple bacon roll, topped with maple-infused cream cheese icing and bacon bits. photograph by Tim Robison
Wendy and Jerry bought Gogo’s house and lived there with her until just before her death in 2021. Although Wendy had never attempted making cinnamon rolls, she challenged herself to try something new and to perfect her creations. It wasn’t long before she drew dozens of customers. Every evening, neighbors drove by to collect their orders of classic, maple bacon, caramel pecan, and orange cinnamon rolls. After two years of drive-up service and with a wait list five weeks long, Wendy and Jerry looked to expand.
The Lewises remodeled a former dentist’s office nearby into their popular bakery, Gogo’s Cinnamon Rolls. The name pays homage to Wendy’s grandmother. So does their merchandise, which is emblazoned with “Hey, Honey,” Gogo’s standard greeting for everyone she met.
In an ironic twist, customers now find a sweet start to the day in the building that formerly housed a dentist’s office. photograph by Tim Robison
Now, four years into their venture and three years since Gogo’s death, Wendy continues her grandmother’s legacy of feeding Old Fort. The original menu has grown to feature 12 sweet rolls, plus savory options — including a pizza roll — and other sweets, like oatmeal cream pies. Every element of the rolls is made in-house, from the cream cheese icing to the puree in the pumpkin spice rolls.
“This is a form of ministry,” Wendy says. “The cinnamon rolls are just the vehicle to deliver comfort to this community.” As for what Gogo would think? “I think she’d say, ‘I’m real proud of you, Honey.’”
Gogo’s Cinnamon Rolls
212 East Main Street
Old Fort, NC 28762
(828) 668-6024
gogosoven.com
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