Our story
Peach's & Cream
David J. Peach—Baker, Entrepreneur, Citizen of the world, and proud owner of Peach’s & Cream Bakery.
Dave still needs about 12 credits for to complete his Business major at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. We think he might get to that one of these years. He left university on the advice of the Head of the Theater Department at the University of Texas. Why was he in Texas? Was he in Texas? At this point, the writing in his journal is smudged and difficult to read—perhaps waterlogged in a swim across the Rio Grande—and the entries less frequent.
I digress.
The story resumes in Boston, in the 1980s, in a series of high-end restaurants and kitchens: Durgin Park, Stella Restaurant, the Ramada Hotel at Charles River, Landmark Inn, Meridien Hotel, Westin Hotel, and more. Essentially, Dave has been yelled at or chopped produce in places at which most of us could only dream of being allowed in the door.
At the Meridien Hotel, he made friends with a man named Joe, whom Dave has describedas “a pastry genius.” There, while being tormented by French pastry chefs, they learned to make various French and European desserts from scratch. They thought perhaps there was an opportunity to open up a bakery that could produce such quality items. Well, as is often the case when the time comes to make that entrepreneurial leap into the unknown, they became he, and Dave opened his first store in historic, scenic East Boston (Ed. note: our in-house copywriter is a born-and-raised East Boston boy) in 1989. Joe ended up selling dental supplies. Ah, fate. What a tangled web you weave. On the one hand, perhaps the world’s finest desserts, cakes, and pastries; on the other, crap dentists use to fill cavities.
By 1992, business was improving, and Dave expanded his East Boston location. He builtup a fairly brisk trade producing so-called “all day parts”—products for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and coffee breaks—for over 30 commercial accounts. And of course, this is not to diminish the offerings available to us hoi polloi. Peach’s and Cream was—and remains—the preeminent Greater Boston bakery. It’s where you get the birthday cake when you actually like someone, and you are not instead thinking, “Holy shit! It’s Auntie Lee’s birthday? I’ll get that dry-as-dustcake from [insert grocery store bakery here] with the putrid frosting as not to embarrass myself.”
In 1996, he opened up his second, and now flagship, store in Chelsea, in an old (and certainly not haunted) Masonic temple. Located in the heart of vibrant Chelsea at 307 Broadwayand aside from—shocking, I know—housing Chelsea’s best bakery, Peach’s additional space is home to churches, artists, and other entrepreneurs. And during the intervening years, Dave has not been complacent with his trade. Like unto his former training, he dedicated himself to perfecting the Latin and South American masters. The result? An array of Latin and South American offerings, highlighted by the Tres Leches, that has vaulted the masters’ work on to the Boston scene in a way not heretofore enjoyed.
Twenty-eight years later, the result is the same: lovingly handmade cakes, pastries, and other fine desserts made by a talented, intelligent, and solicitous staff. We pride our service and our product. We love working with people and realizing a vision that is perfect for that special event, be it a birthday, wedding, quinceañera—anything that brings us together eating sweets. We’ve done it commercially for hundreds, and we do it with the same love for that pastry you’re eating quietly, relaxing after a long day. Give us a call, let us know what you’re looking for, andwe’ll try our best to make it happen.