By Camryn Stroupe, Opinions Editor
In Arkadelphia, few businesses are as iconic to a Ouachita student as Samantha’s Bakery and Cafe. The turquoise building across from the post office invites the community to come in, take a seat and enjoy yummy treats. I personally have loved Samantha’s since my freshman year at Ouachita, and as a senior still remain a faithful customer.
On this visit particularly, I wanted to try some of Samantha’s seasonal specials and customer favorites to share. Walking up to the counter, I asked Anna Helms, head barista, what the customer favorites for food usually are. After being armed with this information, I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with a “sprankle” cookie, while my husband ordered the turkey chipotle sandwich (another customer favorite on the bakery’s menu).
We also ordered a seasonal pumpkin pie macaron, and to drink I indulged in the seasonal pumpkin pie cold brew. Though we ordered lots of pumpkin, I thought it was fitting for the change in seasons as leaves swirled past outside. Our order lined up quite a bit with Helms’ favorites as well: when I asked what she would recommend, she also noted the chicken salad sandwich and turkey chipotle sandwich as two of her favorites along with the Cinnamon Roll, a drink at the cafe.
Sitting at a corner table, Helms told us a bit of how she came to work as head barista there. “I went to Henderson and did a work study job there for two years,” Helms said. “I was trying to find another job and remembered there was this one little place I came to my freshman year and figured I’d try there. I love coffee and love to bake so I was like, you know what, either one would be great. I applied here and interviewed with Conor and now I’ve been here two years and am head barista.”
Macarons, as it turns out, have a delicate process of being made. Since Samantha’s is famous for their macarons, I asked Helms what the process looks like to make them. “It’s definitely a complicated process,” Helms said. “Once you start doing it, it’s a little easier though. You have to whip up the egg whites, flour and all that, and get it to the right consistency. You get stiff peaks and have to check it, add the food coloring if you want it colored, and make the butter cream which is also pretty hard. You can also do a cream cheese frosting and add the extracts in it with whatever flavor you want. The piping is really fun, also tricky to get it right but I love doing the piping. It’s fun. They’re also gluten-free, so they’re super popular.”
Samantha’s was started in 2016 by Samantha and Conor Brown, who still own the business today. “Samantha, we call her Sammy, was originally an elementary school teacher and did it for a few years but wasn’t feeling it anymore,” Helms said. “She had always loved to bake. So, she wanted to start her own little place. They stayed in Arkadelphia because she had graduated from Henderson herself and you know, some people say that once you come to Arkadelphia it’s hard to leave. It’s a nice little homey place. That’s why it was here and they started in 2016 but it was just cupcakes and cookies, stuff like that, and it evolved into sandwiches and coffee and the things we have today.”
The building Samantha’s Bakery and Cafe is located in has a rich history. “First it was a hair salon, then a jewelry store,” Helms said. “People still sometimes come in thinking it’s a jewelry store and then they just say, ‘oh, this is different!’ It was a white house when Sammy bought it and she loved the turquoise color. She painted it this ‘famous blue.’ We actually redid the inside recently. I personally love the Christmas lights we do yearly around the front.”
Samantha’s also has a matching turquoise blue camper that is frequently seen around town catering to events. “We have an espresso machine in there,” Helms said. “It’s mainly just for drinks. We don’t have a stovetop in there to do food. Lately, we’ve been catering to things such as OBU people getting married and wanting Samantha’s to do their drinks. They tell us a few of their favorite things and we have a set menu of the drinks. We also go to several functions around town like the festivals or if OBU or Henderson has one of their fairs or things around campus.”
Samantha’s has a great client relationship with OBU students and the community. “About 80 percent of our clientele is OBU students,” Helms said. “More Arkadelphians and Hendersons students have been coming in recently, too. I think one of my favorite things is when someone from out of town or out of state comes in and mentions they saw us on Google and wanted to try us out. They’ll talk about the area, or Arkansas in general and we get to tell them about it. It’s run in the best way. I really just think we definitely listen to the customers and watch other businesses in the community a lot, and try to implement new things.”
