It’s a Saturday morning in mid-August, as Lexi, a mini Australian shepherd blue heeler, noses her way into the Brown Basset, the new dog bakery on W. Middle St. Lexi doesn’t know it, but today’s her first birthday, and she’s about to get spoiled.
Her owner, Jacki Shatzer, is here from Waterford Township with her mother to commemorate the special occasion. Thankfully for Lexi, Brown Basset’s owners, Staci and John Tripolsky, have one cake left: it’s an all-natural carrot and cinnamon concoction made with organic whole wheat flour and drizzled with carob icing for $18.95. “Sold!” exclaims Shatzer’s mother, who explains that Lexi is her “grandpuppy, who always gets special treats.”
The Tripolskys, who are in their mid-thirties, don’t have kids, and Staci calls their four-year-old basset hound Cooper their “fur child.” She says she understands the need to spoil “special members of the family”: she’s been making homemade treats for Cooper since he was a pup. Staci often posted photos of her creations online and always received encouragement from friends. The couple had “joked about” opening a dog bakery, but after they moved to Chelsea earlier this year from Charleston, South Carolina, to be closer to their families, they found a spot perfect for their pipe dream.
Bonnie and Scott Cook–owners of the Potting Shed and Violet & Moss gift shops as well as Kitty Face, a baby and children’s store–had put their Twigs gift shop space on W. Middle St. up for lease “to concentrate on our three big stores,” Bonnie says. The Tripolskys–who’d just moved into what Staci calls a “cute fixer-upper” a few doors down–originally looked at the vacancy as office space for John, who owns a digital marketing company based in Charleston. But Staci says that, when they walked into the long, narrow sunlight-filled space with high ceilings and hardwood floors, they changed their mind. They’d already done research on dog bakeries and knew “there might be a business model here.” The nearest competition for homemade canine treats is Three Dog Bakery in Plymouth.
Staci, who works full-time in health care marketing for a senior living facility in Saline, is the Brown Basset’s “baker and social media guru,” John says. She bakes Thursday evenings in their home’s double oven using both original and adapted recipes that are all natural, with no preservatives. She says the treats, which include cookies, muffins, twists, doughnuts, cupcakes, and wafers, will last up to a week in the fridge.
The breath-mint cookies “are always the first to go,” Staci says. Peanut butter-pumpkin cookies are a favorite for senior dogs because of their softer texture. And “Fishy Treats,” a pungent tuna-salmon recipe that’s available regular or gluten-free, is also a hot seller. She says customers come in for everyday treats as well as birthdays and “Gotcha Days,” which celebrate adoption anniversaries. Staci takes preorders for cakes and also tries to have some available in the store.
John completed the renovations in thirty days–including building a twenty-foot-long custom counter with a bakery case. “We were here until four a.m. on opening day,” he says. The spot is a hit for customers like Bailey Mae Quinn, a year-old Jack Russell-lab-husky mix and a rescue from the Humane Society of Huron Valley, who’s visiting on this Saturday.
“She came on the ‘love train’ from Tennessee [a dog adoption program],” says her owner Tammy Quinn, who’s shopping with daughter Maddie. “That’s why we gave her a southern name. She’s our princess,” she says. Staci feeds Bailey Mae a bonus treat, and the Quinns leave with a bag of goodies. Cookies run $1.25 each, and doughnuts are $2. The Tripolskys also sell multipacks of treats in some varieties.
Most of the bakery items–including an apple cinnamon doughnut with carob icing–look appetizing enough for the human customers. They’re totally safe to eat, Staci confirms, “but they’re missing the key ingredient we love,” Staci says, and “that’s sugar.”
The Brown Basset, 105 W. Middle St. (734) 593-7117. Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m. Closed Mon.-Thurs. thebrownbasset.com, also on Facebook.
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Chelsea resident Michael Nelson says he’s nearing the end of renovations on his Brahma Haus restaurant in Plaid Melon’s former space on N. Main and plans to open in late fall. He’ll serve “Mediterranean street food,” including falafel, soups, and salads, as well as some India-inspired dishes, including house specialty Brahma Chicken–his version of tikka masala, served with basmati rice, naan, and hummus. Nelson, who has a decade of experience in the restaurant industry, says opening his own place has “always been my dream.”
