Local Bakery Combines Love For Ravens With Promotion

TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- It's been said you have to spend money to make money.

Mike Schuh reports one business owner in Towson found a way to combine his love for the Ravens with a way to promote his already successful bakery.

La Cakerie is a bakery, and they're on a roll. You can go for the racks and racks of eye-watering deliciousness, or just to talk to Food Network contestant baker Jason Hisley.

But behind a door is their plan to let everyone know they're also a deli. It's also the largest Ravens head you'll probably ever see--certainly the only one that can cook you lunch.

Jay Klein says it's a smoker and a mnemonic device.

"It's a tool. Whenever you see something, it triggers a memory inside of you. It's a shortcut for your brain to remember La Cakerie," Klein said.

He originally wanted an oil drum with a metal pig's nose and ears welded on. Then artist Tim Scofield got involved and suggested a raven head.

The next thing you know, he was cutting metal and turning their ideas into functional art--but talk is easy; forming metal isn't.

"I was crying more than laughing when I was making it," he said. "When it's done, it's kind of like, 'Wow, I made this,'" he said.

Now some of their meats inside get smoked before they're sliced. In the end, it cost as much as a good used car.

"It's always hard to tell the value of something, but the fact that you're out here tells me that I'm on the right track," he said.

The owner has plans to open additional bakeries in Hampden and Bel Air. Until then, you can see--and smell--the smoker in action at the Thursday Farmers' Market in Towson.