A Family Business: Two Generations Run North Wilkesboro’s Dom Bakeries
Barricklow family sets up first local bakery in decades
NORTH WILKESBORO-David Barricklow grew up on a dairy farm, milking cows in the morning before heading off to school. But his nights were spent at another job, a donut shop where David found what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to be a baker.
“Baking is very creative, there’s a lot of immediate satisfaction involved,” David said. “I found that I loved it and still do.”
After graduating college in Michigan, he saw an opportunity and took it. Nearby in the small town of Blissfield, there was a building for sale. The previous business had closed and moved out two years ago, so it was sitting empty. David borrowed $2,000 and got permission to use the family dairy farm as collateral to purchase it. That was in 1971 and for two years, his shop did well. But then came a note in the mail that he was being drafted, so David sold the store and prepared to head over to Vietnam.
He never made it overseas, however, as a second notice followed shortly after. Two months before he was scheduled to ship out, on Jan. 27, 1973, the draft was stopped. He couldn’t go back and re-purchase the first store, so he went looking for another one. He found one in Ann Arbor and used the money from the first shop’s sale to buy this one for $5,000. That was the beginning of Dom Bakeries, which he ran with the help of his wife Bronwyn.
“We’ve been in this business a long, long time,” David said. “At one point, we had nine stores and it worked well.”
The businesses grew steady for 30 years and the couple, who now had four children, were happy with the progress. The kids grew up in the bakery, helping out at the shop much like David helped at his family’s farm decades before. But as the company grew, things changed. David had to transition from baking to running the overall operation and that wasn’t something he enjoyed as much.
“The business grew to the point a big chunk of my time was spent in management,” David said. “That’s ok, but it’s not why I went into the business.”
Moving to Wilkes County
In 1996, David and Bronwyn re-evaluated things. By this point, all four of their children were living in North Carolina and they wanted to be close to family, so they sold the business and looked for places to move.
“We had never been in the mountains before, never been on the Blue Ridge Parkway before,” David said. “It’s just beautiful here. We like the weather and we like the mountains.”
And so they settled on North Wilkesboro as a place to call home. Interested in running another business, they opened Anytime Fitness eight years ago at 1108 D. St. It was a good way to meet people and the fitness center did well, but it wasn’t a bakery. So in addition to Anytime, the couple started looking for a place to turn into a bakery. They settled on the structure at 908 D. Street and went to work.
A Family Business
Before long, they were baking bread, making donuts, serving pizzas, coffee and sandwiches to the community. Want some white rye bread? They can help. Interested in picking up a loaf of pumpernickel? They can do that too. Everything is made fresh each day and whatever’s not sold is donated, given to places like the Children’s Home. And while the work is enjoyable, there are other parts of the business the couple loves just as much.
“I like the people,” Bronwyn said. “I love the customers and people coming in. They’ve just been really supportive since we opened up.”
But when they started, there was just one problem. They needed to get the word out to more people, but weren’t exactly experienced with social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.
“Social media didn’t even exist when we sold our [earlier] business,” Bronwyn said. “Wow, that was a big change. You got instant reviews.”
That’s how their daughter Elizabeth got into the business. The couple asked her to help with social media and her role grew from there.
“With a startup, there are just so many things that pop up,” Elizabeth said. “I started doing the social media, picked up the marketing and pr and I work at the bakery when we need the help because that’s what a family business is.”
Currently the store is open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for takeout and drive-thru orders. They’re also offering delivery from 5 to 8 p.m. within a 10-mile radius of the store. For a look at the menu and other information, you can visit their Facebook page here or their website here.
Brian Carlton is the editor of NWNC Magazine. He can be reached at brian.carlton38@gmail.com
