Long after the out-of-town crowds have gone home with apple butter and keepsakes, Kimmswick returns to its small-town pace. The gift stores stay open, but it doesn’t occur to most people to think about ornaments during most days of the year. The Dough Depot, however, appears to have found a solution.
Inside the small shop, you’ll find handmade holiday ornaments: snowmen, gingerbread characters, Santa… On a bitterly cold February day, however, the patrons aren’t there for the prominently displayed holiday tree adornments. Instead, they make a beeline for a doorway in the back to enjoy a casual dining experience.
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The Dough Depot started offering pretzels and sandwiches in 2007, two years after the ornament shop came to fruition, as a way to expand the business. The pretzel motif was originally “a way to compete with the other restaurants in the area,” says owner Cindy Huckstep. When the concept took off, it prompted her to purchase the building next door, a circa 1865 brick home. “We went from 30 seats to 125.”
The train-themed decor invokes Kerouacian themes of freedom and escape into the American heartland, a place where everyone is welcome to enjoy a warm meal and cold beer. At the same time, it’s a way to honor the memory of Huckstep’s late husband, Jim, who was a railroad man.
Today, The Dough Depot is a fully functioning restaurant, with pretzels in the starring role. Sandwiches are served on pretzel buns, starters range from a variety of flavored big pretzels with dipping sauce to a loaded stuffed pretzel loaf, and pretzel-bread pizza is on the menu. But there are other offerings. The restaurant also serves a St. Louis–style pickle pizza, with cracker-thin crust, Provel, and giant slices of dill pickles. On the lighter side are generously portioned salads, complete with house-made dressing (served with pretzel bread, of course).
Oh, and those aforementioned ornaments? Yes, some are handmade from pretzel dough.
