With a name rooted in the same family tree as the brothers Grimm of fairytale lore, Bakers Grimm on Main Street in Delhi blends history with the magic of fresh bread.
Located at 116 Main St., the bakery serves breads, bagels, pastries and lunch specials 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Delmar Crim is the chef, while his wife, Carla Crim, manages the business. She also supplies homegrown vegetables and herbs from her garden for many of her husband’s recipes.
“I bring the whimsy” to the 700-square-foot retail store, she said, such as fresh-cut flowers from her garden.
Grimm is a storied German surname, immortalized by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, whose fairy tales, which include Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel, have endured for generations.
Paul Grimm, Delmar Crim’s ninth great-grandfather, was a distant relative of the Grimm brothers. He was among the earliest residents of Andrustown, a German settlement in the Mohawk Valley.
“In historical records from that period, his surname appears as both Grimm and Crim, which wasn’t unusual at the time, especially as families moved, settled and adapted names across languages and regions,” Carla Crim said.
When the Crims opened their bakery in 2019, they chose the name Bakers Grimm because it is “rooted in place, shaped by history, and connected to stories that are a bit weird, a little magical, and very human,” she said.
Bakers Grimm bakes in small batches using organic flour and fresh, wholesome ingredients.
“Like all good fairytales, ours is still being written — one loaf, one pastry, one early morning at a time,” the website stated.
“Delmar first learned to bake from his mother, Madeline Crim. He still has her rolling pin, in fact,” Carla Crimm said.
After high school, he trained at the Culinary Institute of America and owned a restaurant. While living in Ithaca, he served as the head chef at Wegman’s from 1999 to 2003. He ran kitchen operations Cornell University, which fed 17,000 students and staff per day, from 2003 to 2007. He also worked at café Bon Appetit in Ithaca from 2007 to 2012.
The couple met in yoga class in Ithaca. They moved to Delhi when SUNY Delhi hired him to manage its food services operations as head chef in 2012.
Carla Crim said they began baking for farmers markets and wholesale accounts in 2019 before opening their Main Street retail shop in April 2024.
She said that after securing a home-processor license, her husband started producing loaves and bagels in their home kitchen. Demand for fresh bread surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, prompting them to move operations into a larger commercial space.
When their current location became available, Carla Crim said they immediately recognized its potential for a storefront. Unlike some area businesses that cater primarily to downstate visitors, she said, Bakers Grimm strives to keep its products affordable for the local community.
Bakers Grimm offers $5 and $10 lunch options daily. The most popular items are the Euro sandwich and crocodile bread.
“We usually only make one focaccia-style pizza each day, and it sells out quickly,” she said. “In addition to baked goods, we wanted to focus on fresh, affordable meals for the many folks who are in and around Delhi during the week — office workers, fellow merchants and village residents.”
Bakers Grimm is still baking wholesale items for several farmstands and local grocers. They provide bread to a food and vegetable cooperative called the 607 CSA, which delivers products locally and to multiple locations in Delhi.
Carla Crim said the business has grown “slowly and mindfully.”
“We started out very small with minimal equipment and invested as we grew,” she said. “We haven’t had to take out any loans and have weighed out each investment carefully.”
The commitment to using organic flour has proven well worth the investment.
“It was instilled in us by Faiga Brussel when we first started selling our products at Good Cheap Food,” she said. “Not only are the quality and production practices in line with our personal values, but many people with gluten sensitivity find it more digestible.”
Bakers Grimm has participated in SUNY Delhi’s baking and pastry student internship program for several years.
“It is amazing to see talented young people develop skills and gain career clarity,” Crim said.
The bakery employs six to 12 people, depending on the season. The kitchen crew usually consists of two to four cooks and bakers.
“During school breaks and summer, we have several strong college interns helping out,” she said. “We also have several part-time cashiers who run the register and help keep everything well-stocked and tidy.”
Carla Crim credits retired farm business management educator Mariane Kiraly as a mentor. Kiraly, who supervised Crim during her time at Cornell Cooperative Extension, collaborated with her on numerous workshops.
“I took in so much of the information through osmosis and was well prepared when it came time to structure the business and go through the permitting process,” Crim said.
Find Bakers Grimm online at https://www.bakers-grimm.com.