Farm 23 — Restaurant in Boothbay Harbor

I was super excited when this bakery came to town, but I struggle to understand the owners’ business model. Thankfully, they’re open five days a week again, after having been all the way down to three, but they never have any product in stock when you go to the store. For example, you go on a Saturday at 10 AM, they are sold out of everything except cookies. Yet they’re open for hours more during the day. The first few years they were open, I thought maybe they will calibrate their preparation of product so that they actually have products in stock when they’re open. I mean, I get if they were sold out of things in the last half an hour or even hour of a day, but to have 2 or 3+ hours left to go in the day and to be completely sold out of everything is mine boggling to me. Their stuff is pretty solid, especially for a small town, bakery, but the stuff is hard to come by and unfortunately, it leads me to not even go there if I can’t get there in the first hour because they’ll only make a dozen of something and they’re sold out for the day even though it’s a busy weekend.

A friend of mine has a bakery, and there are certain items that they prep and have ready to go, and they bake them off based on the volume of the day. This strikes the balance of minimizing waste, but making sure you have product to sell. Maybe they could do this with some muffins or something so that at 10 AM on a Saturday or Sunday a bakery actually has product in stock. I held off on posting a review for a few years to see if they caught on at all, but after being in their countless times where they are sold out of anything Except cookies hours before closing and watching multiple frustrated customers come in and then leave, I guess maybe they are just comfortable selling a few pastries for the day and calling it a wrap.

So do go here, encourage them to bake more of their products, and maybe only go on the first hour of opening because otherwise you’ll only be able to get cookies or cakes...

In response to the owner: This review was not based on the catering you all did for our wedding. We very much appreciated you accommodating our request and LOVED the wedding cake and cupcakes. In fact we were so happy we came in after the wedding to personally thank you and get breakfast there. My review was based on my experience trying to thank you and tell you how appreciative we were a few days later. In that experience, the people behind the counter were extremely short with us and in fact we were accused of stealing when we asked for two coffees and were mistakenly only charged for one by the person checking us out and then were handed two coffees. It was such a strange experience there especially since we just came in there to thank you and we left accused of stealing…

I just went in this morning and had a wonderful experience with the folks behind the counter. Sounds like you have hired some folks with some wonderful customer service skills hearing reviews from your customers about these systemic experiences.

Original Review: I am sorry to leave this bad review because the food at this bakery isn’t bad but this place does not have friendly bakery vibes. The folks behind the counter were very short with us. How you treat your customers and human beings in general is very important especially when we were were being so sweet and kind to you. I know you may be overwhelmed with all of the business you are getting from wedding orders but please remember to treat all the way you would like to be treated. We aren’t cattle to be...

Laura makes the best pastries EVER! I have been following Farm23 on social media since before they opened and I’m SOO glad I did.(I‘m just so upset at myself for taking so long to write a WELL overdue review) This is hands down the BEST bakery I have EVER been to! (and being from Long Island, NY I have been to A LOT of bakeries.) My wife and I have been a customer of Farm23 since it opened! Every year we have to visit multiple times for breakfast. We love to get the Fruit Danishes (our favorite) and coffee then go to Ocean Point (or any other of the beautiful places in Boothbay Harbor) to eat and enjoy the views. Since our birthdays happen to fall in the dates we visit we love to get our Bday cakes from Farm23. They all have been so delicious! Laura is amazing and can make just about any cake you want! Their service is always great! Josh makes sure you are attended to and has great suggestions for amazin’ places to eat around town or things to do! This place is a MUST for anyone visiting the Boothbay region. You won’t be disappointed, TRUST ME! Also, a word of advice..... GET THERE EARLY FOR THE BEST...