WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Here is Eric Chilton's conversation with Old Salem President Frank Vagnone.
Eric: "Frank, thanks for being with us this morning. Look we're all excited because finally, we can get back into Old Salem. You guys have been pretty much shut down the entire time".
Frank: Yes, because of the safety for our staff and for our visitors we did a lot of analysis and realized our historic spaces were far too small to be able to allow COVID precautions so we've been closed the entire year. We've done a lot of digital work but Winkler Bakery is actually the very first thing to reopen since the lockdown. So we're pretty excited about it."
Eric: "Well, everybody loves the bakery so paint a picture of what will happen tomorrow when you allow some folks back in."
Frank: "Well you know we have been doing a lot of cosmetic work and restoration work to Winkler so it looks really beautiful. We've also added benches and tables on the outside at street level so that we can still remain within the COVID precautions. I think I may actually be there running the bake oven tomorrow and meeting people. We've also turned half of Winkler into a retail space since our other retail stores are not open so you can come and buy handcrafted Salem, all of the traditional baked goods are going to be there. The interior has really been upfitted so it's it should be a really beautiful experience to kind of step in there tomorrow from 10:00 until 2:00."
Eric: "Let's be honest. Old Salem isn't Old Salem without the smell of that bakery wafting through the streets. Do you know what they're going to have in store tomorrow?"
Frank: "Well, I know we're going to be doing our traditional breads and without a doubt, there will be sugar cake because that's what our social media is telling everyone. But we're also doing a special new baked recipe every month and this month it's a lemon poppy seed bread."