Fast forward a few years and Blue Eyed Baker has completely transformed. They moved to a much larger location at 636 E. Fillmore Avenue in East Aurora, and now they’ve expanded again with a second location at 50 Buffalo Street in Hamburg.
In the three or four years since I first walked through their door, they’ve gone from a flour-dusted little shop to a multi-location operation in two different towns. That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident — it happens when a local family business is doing things right and the community responds.
I genuinely love watching this kind of thing play out. There’s something really exciting about following a local business from its scrappy early days to watching them succeed and grow. It’s one of the best parts of what I do with Eat Local New York — you get a front row seat to stories like this.
My first experience there left a serious impression. I had a breakfast sandwich — I believe it was called the Farmer’s Sandwich — and it was 100% locally sourced. Eggs from a local farm, local sausage, local cheese. On paper it sounds simple. It’s an egg, cheese, and sausage sandwich. But when everything comes from right here in Western New York, the difference is real. I had one of those genuine “wow” moments eating it. The kind where you slow down and actually pay attention to what’s in front of you.
On a later visit to their new East Aurora location, I tried their take on a Beef on Weck — but instead of a traditional kummelweck roll, they serve it on one of their house-made croissants. A bold move, and it worked. Another visit I had their smoked salmon on an everything bagel, which was delightful — clean, fresh, exactly what you want from that combination.
This most recent trip I let them lead the way and ordered the Pickle Pizza. It’s described as an artisan sourdough pizza topped with house-made pickles, fried pickles, and house-made ranch, all layered with mozzarella cheese. I’ll be honest — pickle pizza isn’t something I’d typically reach for on a normal night out. But this one is different enough that I’d tell anyone to give it a shot if they see it on a menu.
Here’s what makes it work: the pickles are chunky — big, substantial pieces, both baked into the pizza and deep fried. When you hit one of those in a bite you get this sharp burst of vinegar that cuts right through everything, and then it’s immediately followed by the creaminess of the ranch and the mozzarella. It’s a flavor sequence that actually makes sense. The base is their sourdough, and the crust has this amazing character to it — think somewhere between a Neapolitan pizza and a good Saturday loaf of homemade sourdough bread. Big and puffy but with real substance and chew to it. It’s not a thin crust situation. This is hearty, baked-with-intention pizza.
Blue Eyed Baker has clearly found their lane and they’re running with it. Creative, locally-minded food made with real craft behind it. If you haven’t been to either location yet, make it a priority — and if you have been, go back. They keep giving you reasons to.
One more thing… Southern Junction is participating in Eat Local New York Restaurant Week, running April 13–26, presented by our friends at Summit Federal Credit Union.
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