Mount Bakery

Owners: Olivier and Shelly Vrambout
Address: 380-C W. Champion, Bellingham 98225
Phone: 223-3187
Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Start date: Feb. 8, 2001

If your nose yearns for a whiff of rich Belgian chocolate and your tongue quivers at the thought of freshly baked fruit tarts, you might want to take a little walk down Champion Street in Bellingham and detour into Mount Bakery.

Owner and baker Olivier Vrambout will be there, busily creating rich, satisfying desserts, breads and other baked goods.

Basing his wares on desserts from his home town of Jumet, Belgium, Vrambout presents frequent — almost daily — menu changes and says he features a large number of chocolate-based desserts. Caramel-ized lemon tarts, chocolate almond Cham-bord torte, fresh-fruit tarts, napoleons and other delights are among those on the list.

A specialty, available any time, is crepes— get them any way you want them, any time of day.

“They take a few minutes, but they’re worth it,” Vrambout says of the light, delicate wafers.

Vrambout and his wife, Shelly, chose the Champion Street location both because it fit their budget and it had several features they wanted in their first business enterprise— such as a tile floor, which gives a European ambience to the cozy, bright interior. Posters featuring mouth-watering Belgian chocolate and Belgian travel posters entertain the eye while you take a break at the tables.

Vrambout, 26, learned the basics and a few baking tricks from his grandmother while growing up in Belgium. He spent a couple of years in college at Auburn, Ala., has worked in a number of restaurants in various capacities and has both played and taught tennis — before, he says, he just burned out. Many of his skills he’s learned on his own, through the trial-and-error method.

Shelly, 30, has a degree in business from Stout University in Wisconsin. Though she expected the couple’s first child about the time this magazine was to go to press, she’ll still be an integral part of the business following the birth.

Vrambout’s voice lightens and his eyes sparkle as he talks about the impending addition to the family. “We’re really excited about that,” he says.

Goals for the business include some expansion. The Vrambouts would like to add a dining area and lunch offerings at some point. But for now, Olivier stays busy creating delectable desserts and catering to customers who are drawn in by the compelling scents.

— Dyas A. Lawson