McFarlan Bake Shop

By: Dan Gibbs

McFarlan Bake Shop has been a fixture on Main Street in Hendersonville since 1930 when original owner Erle McFarlan opened its doors. It is one of those iconic restaurants that most towns have. Anytime a friend comes to Hendersonville for the first time, that is one of the first places I take them to visit. 

McFarlan Bakery advertises themselves as an “authentic made from scratch bakery” on their website mcfarlanbakery.com and anytime I have been in there the staff has been excellent with a great knowledge of the products and services they offer. 

My birthday is December 21 and as anyone that has a birthday that close to Christmas can attest, the pickings were slim as far as birthday presents and celebrations went. That is why it was a huge deal for me to get a birthday cake from McFarlan Bake Shop. Hendersonville resident and friend, Lynn Freeman Bush, a realtor with Weichert Realtors in Hendersonville, whose birthday is December 24, told me a story about how her father used to rush into McFarlan’s at the last minute and buy her a birthday cake. Of course, with it being the last minute on Christmas Eve, they would have to scrape off whoever’s name was on the cake or adding her name to some random cake that had not been claimed, and he took it as is. It was still a McFarlan’s birthday cake. 

Thanks to websites like TripAdvisor McFarlan Bake Shop is gaining an international reputation. The TripAdvisor site in New Zealand has McFarlan as a 5 Star rating. If you have to travel that far, it is worth it.