Popular Aroostook shop is taking its Czech pastries to new location

VAN BUREN, Maine — Construction is underway on a new location for the only business within hundreds of miles that specializes in serving Czech pastries called kolaches. And, thankfully for regulars at Northern Maine Kolache Co., it will be just a quick walk up from its 66 Main St. location.

Kolaches are round, filled pastries that can include both sweet and savory fillings. Czech immigrants first brought the dish to Texas, and kolaches have since gained popularity throughout the South and evolved to include a myriad of unique fillings.

Business owner Donita Ayotte said the shop has seen steady success since first opening earlier this year .

Van Buren Town Manager Luke Dyer said some customers have driven up from Bangor just to check out the restaurant.

“It’s an exciting thing for our town to have something like that,” he said.

Aside from Bangor, Ayotte said customers throughout Aroostook County are coming on a weekly basis from towns like Houlton, which is about an hour and a half away, and Fort Kent, which is about an hour away.

But the bulk of the business comes from people right in town, Ayotte said.

“Regulars from town are coming in every single day to grab breakfast or lunch, or to meet friends,” she said. “We’re hosting some class reunions here. We hosted a birthday party here.”

Ayotte is grateful for the positive reception, because she wasn’t sure if the community would be accepting of the new business at first.

“They’ve been extremely accepting, and I couldn’t be more thankful for it,” she said.

Ayotte is selling between 3,000 to 4,000 kolaches a month. Her business also added scones to the menu, which are quickly becoming popular. Ayotte is selling roughly 2,000 scones a month.

She said the scones are soft, more like a cookie. Flavors include raspberry with a white chocolate drizzle and blueberry with a lemon drizzle. A more recent offering was rhubarb scones with a pomegranate drizzle, Ayotte said.

Ayotte also added a salad bar with extensive topping options and occasionally offers soups on cold or rainy days.

Ayotte grew up in Oklahoma, where kolaches were commonplace. She later moved to Texas, which had plenty of kolache options.

But there were no kolaches when Ayotte first moved to northern Maine three years ago. So she began making them using a family recipe for dough.

Ayotte’s husband and his family own a large potato farm, and she started making kolaches for the farm crew. Word spread from there, and then she began selling them from her home online.

As demand continued to grow, the Ayottes purchased a spot on 46 Main St., next to the Gayety Theater Building , with the intention of creating a new space from the ground up.

The plan at first was to wait and open when this space was finished, but they later rented a space down the street because it was the only way they could meet the demand.

Dyer invited Ayotte to sell kolaches during the town’s Christmas parade last year, which truly illustrated the high demand.

“I think she sold 30 or so dozen in about 25 or 30 minutes,” he said.

Dyer then helped set up Ayotte at the 66 Main St. building, which she is renting until work on the new space is finished.

Ayotte said the new space will be roughly the same size as the space the business is currently using. The building’s overall atmosphere will be completely unique for the area, she said.

Ayotte said the new building will have a modern feel, as well as a farmhouse aesthetic. It will also include a drive-through.

“In terms of its ambiance and overall look and feel, it’s on a completely different level than what most people around here have seen in general, with any building,” she said.

Ayotte anticipates that the new building will be finished by next spring.