Photo by Peggy Grodinsky

I’ve driven by Sweet & Savory Bakehouse in Standish at least a dozen times in the last several years on my way to visit family in Vermont. Each time, the homey-looking sign and the outsized building, formerly a karate studio, have piqued my curiosity. But I’ve either been racing to reach my destination or I’ve missed the bakery-cafe’s 1 p.m. closing time. I promised myself I’d remedy this situation before 2024 ended. I slid in just under the wire, and am glad I did.

The bakery-cafe offers a modest-sized menu of old-fashioned baked goods and homey, appealing sandwiches, mostly for breakfast. Everything, from the English muffins and bagels used to make the sandwiches to the jams featured in the sweets, is made in-house. There are plenty of vegan options, both sweet & savory, too. It wasn’t just because it was lunchtime and I was hungry that I had trouble choosing.

Should it be the white chocolate peppermint cookie, the blueberry corn maple bread pudding or the spiced plum bar? Dessert first! Did I want the Southern Discomfort (egg, bacon, sausage, pimento cheese, tomato) or the Cluckin’ Awesome (chicken patty, double cheddar, sriracha, green lightning jam)? After a bit of hemming and hawing, I chose the plum bar, the Cluckin’ Awesome and a half dozen English muffins for later. Owners Megan and Nathan Chasse — she’s self-taught, he’s a graduate of the Culinary School of America and several local kitchens — run a large wholesale English muffin business, and really, who could resist?

An impressively capable 11-year-old girl at the counter took my order. Two other smaller girls were helping Nathan Chasse shape dough into English muffins in the kitchen behind the counter. The Chasses home-school their children, who pitch in at Sweet & Savory Bakehouse. “We do everything as a family,” he said. The 15 minutes I was told to wait for my sandwich was in reality less than 10, and it was fun to watch the family work together.

The sandwich stayed toasty all the way home, and didn’t appear to suffer from the commute. You can also eat at a few small tables at the bakehouse, but atmosphere is not the place’s strong suit. The chicken patty, which had been sautéed in butter, was nice and juicy. Any potential blandness was offset by tingly kicks from the sriracha and the jam. About that “green lightning” jam: The Chasses make it from jalapenos, sugar and lemon. And what a great and imaginative addition. The melted double cheddar, both underneath and on top of the patty, was another thoughtful touch. Kudos, also, for a sandwich in which the interior and the bread are in nice proportion to one another.

The buttery spiced plum bar ($3.79), should you be wondering, was also a real treat.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, I noticed two chickens free-ranging around its edges. They belong to a neighbor, Nathan Chasse said, but he added that eggs from the chickens that his family keeps occasionally supplement the supply at Sweet & Savory Bakehouse. Sweet.

The Cluckin’ Awesome, $9.60, Sweet & Savory Bakehouse, 51 Pequawket Trail, Standish, sweetandsavorybakehouse.com