The smell of kolaches baking is a sweet one. So is the prospect of success for Ennis' first bonafide Czech bakery.   Greg and Sally McElroy's Kolache Depot will open its doors to the pastry-loving public on Tuesday, Aug. 12, replacing the Kandille restaurant and shop at 508 W. Ennis Ave.

"This is home," said Greg McElroy. "I have been here all my life." McElroy explained that he is glad to work in Ennis instead of commuting to Dallas, where he has been involved in the financial business for 20 years.  As a maker of Czech pastries, he is quick to point out that he is also authentically qualified.

"I have Czech roots through my mother, who is a Vrla." he said. "The McElroy side of my family are also natives of Ennis; they came here from Boyce."

Sally's family, the Battens, are long-time Ennisites, as well. She is proud to be able to provide her hometown with a new bakery, specializing in kolaches.  "It's a whole new beginning," she said.

As they put finishing touches to their new shop, the McElroys are gearing up to give Ennis what Sally said will be the "cleanest, friendliest and tastiest" bakery.  "We'll have to work on being the speediest," she added.

Greg pointed out that while "speedy is not always best," there will be a fast-service drive-thru available to customers.  "We're going to be doing this together as a family," he said. "My three daughters and son will be helping us out as much as possible."

Greg stressed that the kolaches his shop will serve are all to be freshly baked from home recipes approved by his mother and other local Czech cooks.  "They're not frozen," he said. "People can walk in and see our dough table and watch us baking."

There will be 13 flavors of kolaches, he said, including traditional Czech favorites like poppyseed and apricot along with special kinds such as Bavarian chocolate, strawberry cream cheese, pineapple, even prune.  In addition to the kolache selection, cinnamon rolls will be served along with pigs-in-a-blanket, sausage rolls, ham and cheese rolls and a variety of meats, both mild and hot.

Sally said that breakfast at the Kolache Depot will be hearty enough for a "big man or two women."

The Kolache Depot will be family oriented, say the McElroys. "We want to appeal to all races and cultures and classes," Greg said. "We want this store to be a place for everyone to come."

Former shop owner Harriet Adams said she was happy about the installation of the Kolache Depot. "This is good for Ennis," she said. "Ennis needs a bakery. To get good kolaches, you used to have to go 45 minutes to West."

The McElroys say the shop sign will go up soon. They are looking forward to opening next Tuesday. Asked whether they are nervous or excited, Sally replied, "Yes!"

Roll over, jelly donut.  There's a new Czech cousin in the Ennis breakfast family: Kolache Depot Bakery is coming to town.  Meet the kolache - a happy little filled pastry you don't have to be Czech to love.

Greg McElroy had been on the road for 20 years, commuting to places like Frisco. "I had been looking for an opportunity, and we had even discussed the idea of a kolache bakery the week before the article came out in the official National Polka Festival guide in the Ennis Journal," Greg recalled as friends and family members measured out the floor space for an enlarged baker's kitchen and counter at the Kandille building.

'The article came out, and I was the first of several people to call Greg Raines.  We met the morning of the National Polka Festival Parade and hit it off," he said.

Rains may have been persuasive, but it was the product that won the McElroys over. "We were a little antsy until we tasted the Kolache Depot Bakery kolaches at the Polka Festival.  I thought, 'Okay, we can do this,'" Sally recalled with a smile.

McElroy's mother is of Czech descent - she's a Vrla - and her opinion on the kolaches was important to the McElroys. "She said, 'Well, they're way better than mine,'" Greg said.

That product will be front and center on a menu that will feature 13 flavors of kolaches, as well as cinnamon rolls, sausage kolaches and ham and cheese rolls - and other baked goods may be test-marketed as well.  When it comes to Kolache Depot Bakery's kolaches, the secret's in the recipe. “They’re light, the dough is very light.  Many kolaches tend to be heavy and dry, but these are light and will have plenty of filling,” Greg said.

One kolache will cost 65 cents; a dozen will run in the neighborhood of $5.95 – competitive pricing by Ennis standards.  They’ll be penny-wise and calorie-wise, too.

“They have less than half the fat of a fried pastry,” Sally said.

Gourmet coffee will be offered on a self-service basis.  And of course, there will be a drive-through service. "We really want to make this a quick in-and-out for people on the go,” Sally said, adding that there will be plenty of seating inside and out for those who want to linger or have a breakfast meeting.

By appointment, they will also cater, bringing kolaches and rolls to meetings in the area, or preparing platters for pick-up.

They are also interested in supplying other area business. “We would like to do business with hotels and restaurants who want to buy and resell our products,” Greg said.

The new bakery is rapidly taking shape at the classy-looking brick-faced Kandille, formerly a tearoom with a wine bar and gift shop. Former Kandille regulars will recognize familiar features – the Moroccan lantern sign, tables and chairs and of course, the Ennis High School championship football plaques.

“We want this to remain an Ennis landmark – this will stay the Kandille building,” Sally said.  “We’re working hard to keep the atmosphere intact.

“Harriett’s been really good to us – we appreciate her so much.” The décor will definitely be all about Ennis, with the McElroys hoping for memorabilia from both Ennis High School and St. John’s School, as well as local Czech and historical touches.

Sally said the Kolache Depot Bakery is considering the possibility of having a museum-like quality by having display space for Czech memorabilia and Ennis history where local families can display treasured memories.

They plan on being good ambassadors for Ennis as well, with racks for displaying area promotional materials.

The McElroys’ recipe for success is based on three things – product, atmosphere and customer service. Greg McElroy knows the last ingredient is essential to the mix. “I’ve been in customer relations for 20 years, so customer service is my thing,” Greg said.

“Every person who comes into our store will be treated the same – that’s our goal,” Sally added. “We want to make it friendly, a place you can bring your kids on weekends or for breakfast – a place where you can make memories,” she said.

“We want Kolache Depot Bakery to be a family-oriented, happy place.”

And while Kolache Depot Bakery will have a distinctly Czech flavor – “One of our big goals is to meet a need – it’s so important to preserve our heritage,” Sally said – the McElroys believe with all their hearts the idea will appeal to all cultures.

The response they have received in the community so far confirms that belief. “Our thanks to the community – everyone has been so helpful thus far,” Greg said.

They are getting ready for the full-sized challenge of owning a bakery and all that entails, preparing to set their alarm clocks a whole lot earlier – the kolache baker’s day starts at a yawning 3:30 a.m.

Although an expanded schedule may be possible in the future, for the time being the hours will be Tuesday through Sunday, 6 a.m. to noon.

It’s all a little nerve-wracking, but the McElroys have faith in their idea.  “I prayed that if it wasn’t meant to be, a door would slam in our faces.  I’m now officially self-employed,” Greg said with a chuckle.

Sally is an active volunteer in Ennis schools, as well as organizations such as Meals on Wheels and Children’s Medical Center.  Both she and Greg are on the board of the Ennis Work Camp and are active at their local church.

The McElroys said they plan to be active with local groups such as the Ennis Historic Downtown Merchants Association and the Ennis Chamber of Commerce, and to be involved in the community.

Their four children are expected to help with the family business.

Greg is the son of Billy and Emily Vrla McElroy, and Sally is the daughter of Al and Lameda Batten.

Kandille Building owner Harriett Adams said she had several businesses interested in renting her building, and she is very pleased with her new tenants. “I am happy to have them there – they are upstanding citizens and good role models,” she said. “They have exemplary values and are hard workers.”

“I know it’s a great thing for Ennis to have a bakery again – it’s been a missing ingredient since Betty’s Bakery closed,” she said, “And I’m sure the early risers are as anxious to go over there for a hot fresh kolache and a cup of really fabulous coffee at 6 a.m. as I am to go over at 7,” she said with a chuckle.

Everything’s coming up restaurants for Greg and Sally McElroy.  The Ennis restaurateurs saw their business world expand with October’s purchase of the Brown Street Café.  While the economy may be tightening its belt,  America still needs to eat, and the McElroys will be there with a plateful.

Business is on the grow.  A new Kolache Depot Bakery will open soon in Burleson, and the McElroys will also lend their expertise to a new business in Longview.  “Hopefully there will be many more to come,” Sally said.

Located just east of the corner of Dallas and Brown Streets, Brown Street Café consistently attracts a steady stream of Ennis lunchgoers.  It was a logical move for the McElroys, who like what founder Debbie Jones did with the place.  “Our hats are off to Debbie for this dream, this vision,” Greg said. “We don’t want to change anything right now.”

Look for the same, consistently courteous and friendly service that exemplified both Kolache Depot Bakery and Brown Street Café prior to the merger.  “The restaurant business is the hospitality business.  If you don’t want to be in the hospitality business, don’t go into the restaurant business,” Greg said.

While the foundation of fresh salads, lunch specials paninis and sandwiches and yummy desserts hasn’t changed, Greg said elements of Kolache Depot Bakery found their way over this week – freshly-baked breads and rolls, kolaches, lunch items with a Czech flair.

“We will incorporate new menu items and maintain the integrity of both places. I think we will be able to grow slowly, as we try to do everything with excellence.  We don’t want to lose that.  In a small town, people have expectations, and we want to keep out integrity intact,” Greg said.

Other upgrades will include Buna Bean coffee by the cup – previously, the Brown Street Café sold fresh-ground; the McElroys will now serve it as well.

“This gives us a lot more room to grow – the other place is small.  We will have a lot of opportunities for catering that we didn’t have before,” Greg said.

Greg McElroy’s college degree is in accounting, which made a good foundation for the restaurant business and the possibilities of entrepreneurship.  “We’re enjoying the challenges this will bring our way.  The restaurant business sucks you in.  It stretches you – it’s challenging every day,” he said.

Ennis is home for the McElroys, and a great place to be in business, they said.  “We’re thrilled to be here, in this community,” Greg said.

Sally smiled as she talked about nurturing the couple’s new venture.  “It’s a brand-new baby,” she said.

Starting this week, the entire Kolache Depot Bakery lunch menu has been moved to Brown Street to augment the Brown Street Café Menu.

Kolache Depot’s new hours are from 6-11 every day, and Brown Street’s hours are 10:30 -2 every day.

Brown Street also offers a full breakfast menu each Saturday from 6-11 a.m. served by Mary Thompson and Linda Underwood (formerly of BJ’s Café).