EASTON — Susan Leonard created sugar buns, a cross between a cinnamon roll and a croissant. The pastry is a staple of Leonard’s business, Sugar Buns Cafe and Bakery, and it also reflects her journey to her love for providing comfort food to all those seeking it, which has involved a lot of creativity.
Leonard said she came to owning her cafe the same way she came to all her past careers: through a mixture of boredom and curiosity.
From her two decades career as a flight attendant to receiving her master’s in Chinese medicine and practicing acupuncture at Johns Hopkins Hospital, to real estate and mortgage banking and even to being one of the first women to receive an acceptance letter for the FBI training program, Leonard has gains a wide range of life experiences.
Her only consistency through all these career changes has been her love for food.
“My joy comes from making people happy and seeing them really appreciate good food,” Leonard said.
Leonard was raised by what she describes as a “meats and potatoes” traditional father and an “ahead of her time” mother who encouraged her to seek independence and “pave her own path.” Leonard kept curiosity at the forefront of her life.
As a flight attendant, she would take cooking classes during layovers in places like Paris, Barcelona and Athens.
That combination of cooking and air travel is reflected in Sugar Buns Cafe and Bakery’s menu.
Leonard said she tries to make her menu leave an impression through humor and decided to use airport codes for all her hamburgers, including LAX, CDG and London Heathrow, which was named so because it is a double-decker burger.
The cafe is located in the terminal at Easton Airport.
Jessica Gibbs, the waitress at Sugar Bun Cafe, said she tries to provide an open, free-flowing and friendly atmosphere. Customers often come in to enjoy a meal while watching planes land and take off, she said.
Gibbs said she also enjoys the celebrities that have come down for a meal, including John Travolta, Harrison Ford, Adam Sandler and a handful of senators and representatives.
Besides sugar buns and hamburgers, the menu includes a variety of breakfast and lunch items, including the signature “Crabzilla,” a large sandwich with six pieces of bacon, thick tomato slices and a large crabcake between Texas toast, finished with two olive eyes.
Calvin Johnson, chef of Sugar Buns Cafe, said he enjoys working there and his creative freedom with the menu, especially since almost all the food is made from scratch and they refuse to use frozen food in meals.
“All the stuff here is comfort food, and I’ve been around a bunch of different places, but I’ve been here a long time,” Johnson said. “Me and Susan are kind of like Batman and Robin.”
Through all her adventures, Leonard said she has always tried to follow her gut and chase curiosity, which is what she advises young girls to do, similar to what her mother modeled for her.
“You take a true accounting of your gifts and challenges and then what your heart wants to do,” Leonard said. “It’s usually a good match, like the old saying ‘if you do something you love, you never have to go to work.’”
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