Freshly baked pies, breads, doughnuts and 250 flavors of cheesecake are only some of the sweet treats available at the CC Cakery and Bakery at 221 E. Front St. in Buchanan.

The bakery opened last week at the Buchanan location, and is owned and operated by Gail Hanchar, of South Bend.

Growing up around family that owned their own bakeshops and restaurants in Illinois, Hanchar has trained most of her life to be a baker. Her mother, Julie “Jules” Reames, was also an avid baker who passed many skills along to her daughter, including the family recipes that give Hanchar’s baked goods their homemade taste.

Since those early days spent helping her aunts, Arlene Gray and Maye Verbout, Hanchar was hooked.

“I loved creating things and watching how she [her aunt] could take the powdered sugar and flower and just make all this stuff, [including these] grandiose cakes,” Hanchar said.

Hanchar has been a professional baker for between six and seven years. She is a former Michiana business owner, who operated the Crumb Crossing.

Hanchar said she made the move to Buchanan, because she needed a bigger space to serve her customers and a subsequently growing staff, which now includes a team of eight.

Hanchar hopes to offer a wide selection of freshly baked goods to customers, which contain no preservatives or chemicals.  The shop also utilizes a variety of local vendors for ingredients, including Shelton’s and Lehman’s. Hanchar also offers a wide selection of gluten free options including breads, pies, cakes and brownies.

Another aspect that makes her business unique is that customers can order customized goods. Hanchar said she enjoys the challenge of creating something new and has a motto that “as long as she can bake it,” then she will make it.

Hanchar also specializes in a variety of cakes from wedding cakes to sculpted cakes in the forms of dragons, castles and cartoon characters. Soon to be wed couples also have the economical option of ordering a faux cake, with a specialty slot for a piece of real cake for the ceremony.

Customers can also pick from a selection of locally roasted Toccoa brand coffee.

Through baking, Hanchar was also able to merge her love for solving crimes and sweet confectioners. One only has to look at her “Naval Crime Investigative Service” inspired cupcakes to see how she does this.

The cupcakes have been a customer favorite, enticing the curious with names like “Death by Chocolate,” which is named after Morgan from “Criminal Minds.”

The passion for the justice system is not just inspired by today’s murder mystery shows. Hanchar earned a forensic psychology degree from Walden University in Arizona.

She spent a year working for the state of Indiana as father engagement therapist. Her job was to help fathers, some of whom had been to prison learn the skills necessary to be a good parent and get their children back in their possession. A health condition encouraged her to change her profession, she said. But she still pays homage to her other passion with the cupcake series.

“They are so good, they should be criminal,” Hanchar said.

Hanchar praised the city of Buchanan for welcoming the bakery, criminal cupcakes and all, with open arms. 

“It is fabulous,” Hanchar said. “I feel like we are part of the family.”

In return, Hanchar said she looks for ways to help out the community. She recently said she catered the Buchanan High School wrestling team’s matches for a total of four games.

Looking to the future, Hanchar soon hopes to expand from bakery to events planning venue. Honoring her mother, Hanchar plans to call the future venue “Jule by the River.”

To go:

HOURS: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday

LOCATION: 221 E. Front St., Buchanan

INFO: facebook.com/pg/crumbcrossing