Tattered Apron Bakery opens Sept. 24; 2 South Hill restaurants follow

South Hill, your dining scene is looking a whole lot fuller this fall.

Tattered Apron, the full-service bakery, opens Saturday in South Hill. The Hub, an outpost of the Tacoma restaurant and brewery, is expected to open this year in South Hill.

Also coming soon? A Thai restaurant just off Meridian.

TATTERED APRON BAKERY

Prepare yourself for fresh-baked pie.

And cinnamon rolls, scones and muffins.

Oh, and cheesecake.

Did I mention the cake-by-the-slice?

The Tattered Apron Bakery will open Saturday at 14207 Meridian Ave. E. in the former home of the Great Harvest Bread Co. The business will be a full-service dessert bakery with a constantly changing display case.

Tattered Apron also will create special-order cakes and offer other dessert catering.

Jessica Duggan started Tattered Apron Bakery two years ago specializing in pies and other desserts sold at farmers markets. She first sold at the Puyallup Farmers Market in 2014 and expanded to the Tacoma Broadway Farmers Market in 2015.

This spring, she began working on a brick-and-mortar location with the intention of expanding her dessert menu.

At the South Hill bakery, she’ll offer scone flavors that include orange cranberry, lemon poppy seed, raspberry lemon and blueberry lemon. Muffin flavors will include blueberry, chocolate chunk, lemon poppy seed and bran.

She’ll also sell cookies, with plans for chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, peanut butter and frosted sugar cookies. Duggan has been working on savory and sweet croissant recipes. And, yes, she’ll have gluten-free baked goods.

For the opening, she’s planning, “almond croissants, gluten-free banana bread, carrot cake muffins and zucchini bread. Some other things will be scones, cinnamon rolls, cheesecakes and cake sold by-the-slice.”

Drip coffee will be served.

Hours will be 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. “ish” Sundays. Call 253-845-4365 or visit facebook.com/thetatteredapron.

CHARM THAI

Weev Tangthanawiroot isn’t quite sure when her restaurant, Charm Thai Cuisine, will open in South Hill, but she’s hopeful it will be in the next few months.

This is a second restaurant for Tangthanawiroot, who operated Phra Khun Thai Bistro for seven years in Des Moines before she moved to Puyallup.

She said her Thai restaurant will serve classic Thai dishes, such as phad Thai. She plans to serve beer and wine at the 40-seat restaurant which will be in the far end of a strip mall where Julie’s Gluten-Free Bakery once operated (a driving school and vehicle licensing agency are in the same strip mall).

Watch for the restaurant at 16126 Meridian Ave. E., Puyallup.

HUB SOUTH HILL

As I wrote in June, Hub Restaurant is expanding to South Hill. The restaurant, part of the family of restaurants operated by Tacoma’s Harmon Brewery, is now under construction at 214 39th Ave. SW, the former home of Rio Blanco Mexican restaurant. The restaurant is across the street from the South Hill Mall’s J.C. Penney entrance.

The restaurant is known for its pizza, sandwiches and entrees, built to be paired with Harmon beers. The 20-year-old brewery and restaurant operates the Harmon Brewery in downtown Tacoma, the Harmon Taproom in the St. Helens neighborhood, and Hub Restaurants in Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

Co-owner Pat Nagle, founder of the Harmon, said the building overhaul underway now should fix some problems, including an awkward mid-building entry that will be shifted to the front of the building. An outdoor dining area and live music area is under construction behind the building.

Co-owner Carole Ford, who operates the Hub restaurants with Nagle, said the menu will mirror what’s served at the Gig Harbor and Tacoma locations: Sandwiches and entrees in the $10-$20 range; a family-focused menu with kid-friendly food; a bar with cocktails, 10 taps for Harmon beers (split between flagships and seasonals) and up to nine taps from other local craft beverage companies.

Nagle and Ford are aiming for a November opening, but that’s contingent on construction. Tip: Chik-fil-A, the chain fried chicken sandwich restaurant, is opening near the Hub.

FRY PAN CHINESE

Hey Chinese take-out fans, there’s a new option in South Hill. Fry Pan Chinese, specializing in online ordering and delivery, is now open at 15941 Meridian Ave. E., Puyallup; 253-881-1501 or frypanpuyallup.com.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Tattered Apron Bakery opens Sept. 24; 2 South Hill restaurants follow."