Where to Find Gourmet Ingredients in Keene
KEENE - Blink and you might drive right by Cedar Run Bakery & Market near the intersection of 73 and 9N in Keene.
That would be a mistake.
Popular for its take-and-bake meals (more on that in a bit), what’s truly astounding about Cedar Run is the sheer number and variety of ingredients attractively displayed inside its small space. There’s the basics like flour, sugar, and chicken stock but also harder-to-find ingredients like tahini, kimchi, miso, preserved lemons, truffle oil. Duck fat spray? Check. Demerara sugar? Yup. Arborio rice? Of course.
Just about every inch of every shelf is jammed packed with items that make you stop, look, and linger. Here’s a half dozen different mustards for your consideration, 10 kinds of hot sauce, scores of jams and jellies. Owner Kristy Farrell, who established the bakery in 2002 and first leased its current location before buying the building, keeps up to date on the latest ingredient trends by reading about food trends and restaurants and stocks her store accordingly.
Packed shelves invite perusing.
Like cocktails? Head over to the left of the front door where you’ll find a baker’s dozen of different types of olives for your martini, myriad bitters, and mixes for making margaritas, Bloody Marys, sangria, and more. (For the booze, look no farther than Cedar Bakery’s teeny but well-stocked liquor store next door.) There’s also more varieties of tinned fish than I have ever seen in my life. Kristy notes that it’s popular with backpackers.
Baked goods include a huge rotating selection of pastries and sweets. There's 20-something cupcake varieties listed on the store’s website and 51(!) muffin flavors. My favorite (so far) is their carrot cupcake. Light and moist with a cream cheese frosting, it’s about the best I’ve tasted next to one I make for myself. I was not so lucky with a S’mores cupcake: it had good flavor but was a bit dry on that occasion. Other baked goods include cheesecake, brownies, cookies, and whoopie pies with flavors that change regularly based on the season or upcoming holiday. The only downside to the ever-changing selection is that you can’t be guaranteed a favorite will be available on a casual drop by. But with ample lead time, you can request specific items (see the market’s website for details on ordering).
While the bakery does not make any food to order, they daily create to-go sandwiches, salads, and bowls flavored, as it says on the website, “on their whim.” That means you won’t find the same exact offerings on each visit. But who cares when the offerings are this interesting? Recent examples included salami with greens, cukes, tomato, cheddar, and honey mustard; grilled pork loin; and, my favorite, a chicken salad wrap studded with chopped apple. Sides include green salads and grain salads but no slaw as I was sad to discover on one visit when I was serving pulled pork back at home.
A tiny sampling of the sweets sold at Cedar Run.
Now, about that take-and-bake. Head for the freezer at the back of the store and marvel at your options. Most meals have a hearty, somewhat retro feel: chicken divan, beef Bourguignon, turkey tetrazzini, tuna noodle casserole(!), and meatloaf. The meals may seem pricey at first glance—$28.95 for the most popular item, a crumble-topped chicken pot pie that looks to serve two to three. But the convenience of showing up at your rental with a ready-to-bake meal or just heating one up after a long day hiking is worth it. You can also order specific meals or larger portions with advance notice, and they offer appetizers and sides to go with the mains.
All of the food made by the folks at Cedar Run comes out of a tiny but efficient kitchen on the premises that was designed by Kristy. If it’s got a Cedar Run label on it, it was made by Kristy or her handful of loyal employees (the pizzas are made by her husband). Cedar Run does not use any artificial ingredients and tries to source local and organic ingredients as much as possible.
The Take & Bake Freezer is always full.
Kristy, who worked at the bakery’s earlier iteration where Forty Six restaurant now stands, admits she didn’t always have a dream of owning a place like Cedar Run. “I had no plan,” she says. She graduated college as an education major but found she preferred baking to teaching. “I wanted to just make muffins,” she recalls. “Muffins don’t talk back to me, and their parents don’t call upset.”
Muffins may not talk back, but there is the occasional not-so-kind review online. Kristy is well aware of them and notes that at least one - about a Thanksgiving pie with a too-thick crust - was actually helpful and that they now roll the pie dough out thinner.
My own experiences have been good to excellent. One time I arrived too early to grab the sandwiches we wanted for later in the day. The folks working that day nicely asked me what I wanted and whipped up a couple for me quickly. Another time, when I asked for a bag for my sandwiches after already paying with my phone, I was told it would cost 25 cents. The cashier then waited while I went out to my car to find a quarter to hand over. When I told Kristy about this, she sort of rolled her eyes like she herself would have let the quarter slide. But rules are rules, and her employees abide by them.
Speaking of rules, Kristy has made it a rule to never give out any of her recipes and even has her kitchen staff sign a pledge swearing they never will. “People have offered me their firstborn,” she jokes. (At least I think it was a joke.)
Regardless of any very minor quibbles, Cedar Run is always worth a stop. Just give yourself plenty of time to peruse the wares, which also include pet supplies, household goods, gifts, and other fun surprises.
You also might want to stock up sooner rather than later. Though she looks too young to be thinking about retirement, it’s something that’s on Kristy’s mind. While she loves the community that has grown around the market, she’s hoping to sell the business and the property (which also has two apartments on site) as a package within the next 5 years or so, ideally to someone who wants to keep the bakery going. Fingers crossed she finds that buyer.
GOOD TO KNOW:
The market is closed Tuesday through Thursday to allow the small staff resupply for the weekend and to receive special orders.
There is no eat-in section, but there are picnic tables outside.
If you need a bathroom, head up the road to Stewart’s as the bakery does not have a public restroom.
Cedar Run Bakery
2 Gristmill Lane, Keene
(518) 576-9929
June 2026