As a young girl, Robin Grubard always had an avid interest in cooking and as she grew up, she enjoyed cooking for others, never realizing it would become her lifelong passion and career.
“I’ve had plenty of formal culinary education. I never thought I’d be a baker but that’s where life has taken me. I love it,” said Grubard whose skills as a baker led her to opening Daily Fare in 2009, a thriving café that allows her to continue making people happy through homemade food.
“It’s surreal. Like raising kids, the days are long but the years fly by. I can’t believe it’s been 16 years,” she said.
The bakery is located at 13 Durant Ave. in Bethel inside the Metro North train station.
Since opening, it’s been a popular destination for travelers and townspeople who appreciate her 100% homemade baked goods.
“My cafe is sort of English-style, serving great scones and 10 varieties of pasty, a popular empanada-like meal in the UK,” she said.
It’s well-known for its breakfast, lunch, Saturday brunch, sweet treats, and more, with everything baked on-site from scratch daily by her small staff using only real, natural ingredients.
“I like to say that we bake everything just like grandma. Some items are baked daily, some last for several days,” she said.
The bakery menu includes Grubard’s signature scones, sometimes sweet and sometimes savory; dessert bars such as Raspberry Bars with streusel topping and Chocolate Magic Bars topped with semi-sweet chocolate, toasted coconut, and cream caramel; granola bars; a changing selection of cupcakes; brownies; croissants made with French butter; muffins; chocolate mousse; Olive Oil Orange Cake; cookies, such as chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and white chocolate cranberry oatmeal; and a selection of gluten-free and vegan options.
Grubard is best known for her pasty and makes 10 different varieties of the hand pie. It’s remained her biggest seller.
“For centuries, European laborers and royalty alike enjoyed savory pies as the ultimate meal-to-go. But it was the coal and tin mining families of Britain that turned them into a staple and brought them to America in the 19th century. Daily Fare is one of the only places in New England to make homemade pasty so people can enjoy it in all of its hearty goodness,” said Grubard, who started making them because Cornish pasty is her husband’s favorite comfort food.
“His family is from Pennsylvania coal country where they’re popular and I wanted to offer something unique for lunch. We take inspiration from the traditional and add our own special flair.”
Customers can sample Sha-rrrrooom, which is sautéed paté of earthy mushrooms with smoked Gouda in a multi-grain crust; Traditional Cornish, the original favorite of miners, featuring ground beef, onions and potatoes in a golden brown crust; Groovin’ Reuben filled with homemade corned beef, kraut, Swiss, and Thousand Island dressing in a rye crust; and the Hellenic, Greek-inspired with spinach and feta in a pastry crust infused with fresh herbs; among others.
For brunch, Daily Fare offers baked French Toast; classic bacon-egg-cheese and sausage-egg-cheese on homemade bread or croissant; homemade granola with a variety of toppings and homemade granola bars; scones; and a wide selection of muffins.
Saturday Brunch is offered from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We take our 100% homemade philosophy to an extreme for brunch. We make our own sausages and the bread for our baked French toast (and the butter). We make homemade ‘everything bagel’ bread for our egg sandwiches and make our own Greek-style yogurt, too,” said Grubard. It also features classic English tea sandwiches, smoked salmon, Rosti (Dutch potato cakes), and weekly specials that highlight the flavors of the season.
Gerry Leonard and Kathy Allen, of Danbury, are frequent customers.
“Robin’s family and staff are always welcoming. Our time there is most enjoyable and relaxing,” Allen said.
Some of their favorite baked goods include the scones and muffins, pasties, seasonal homemade soups, especially the potato-leek, the chocolate mousse, and gluten-free brownies.
“Breakfast sandwiches and Saturday brunch offerings are always beautifully prepared to order. Great coffee and a wide choice of teas. Robin’s packaged granola to take home is yet another treat. It’s all scrumptious,” Allen said.
Leonard and Allen said they appreciate the location with easy parking. “We also enjoy seeing how Daily Fare is involved in supporting many local community events and activities.”
Growing up, Grubard said she knew there was more to enjoy than just TV dinners and fast food, and that mindset led her to attending culinary school where she excelled academically and returned to her alma mater to teach.
Now she shares her love of baking with her hometown.
“Before opening Daily Fare, I was a personal chef, going to people’s homes and preparing homemade dinners for their freezers. My original business model was centered around take-home dinners for commuters out of the train station,” she said. “The morning pastries were a bigger hit than the dinners, so the bakery became the focus.”
When she originally chose the train station as her locale, she thought she’d only be catering to commuters which factored into her business plan.
“I liked that idea because it allowed me to only open on weekdays and be available on weekends for family time with my two young kids. It’s tough to be a mom and work nights and weekends in restaurants,” she said.
Grubard’s culinary philosophy is straightforward, she said.
“I believe in using real ingredients of good quality and no mixes or shortcuts,” she said. “In today’s age of convenience foods, it’s hard to find bakeries where everything is made from scratch. This is something we are proud of. We try to source local ingredients when possible, mostly from our local farmer’s market. We use their vegetables in our quiches, soups, and zucchini chocolate chip muffins.”
Also, Grubard takes special orders and makes specialty cakes, she said.
“I think this is one of the things that make us unique and challenges us to be creative in new ways,” she said. “I’ve created cakes for people that they can’t find other places, including a Smith Island Cake, Boston Cream Pie and several ‘can you please prepare my mom’s ….cake if I give you her recipe?’ cakes.”
You can also find Grubard’s baked goods at Tusk & Cup in Ridgefield and Wilton, Rumors European Cafe in Danbury, and Molten Java and UK Gourmet in Bethel.
Grubard said she appreciates her location in Bethel where she’s lived for 25 years.
“My two children were raised here. My husband and I came here from Baltimore knowing no one. Bethel has become our home and that makes it special. Having a gathering place in this town, a place where people feel welcomed and comfortable makes me feel humbly proud,” she said.
“Over the years, I’ve grown to love being in the train station because I get to meet new people, making Daily Fare one of the first impressions many people get of Bethel. Knowing we’re giving a warm welcome is what makes this a perfect fit for my business. In a world full of box stores and online shopping, and generic baked goods that come in on a truck, we can still offer the warmth of your neighborhood bakery.”