Best Bakery
Butterfingers
Highland / 219.836.4202
When Robert Haynes completed training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, he decided opening a restaurant wasn’t for him.
“Carry-out food seemed a better way to go,” says Haynes. The result—Butterfingers—speaks for itself. This winner in the “Best Bakery” category scores with loyal patrons who love the delicious baked goods, salads and sandwiches produced by Haynes and staff in Highland and Munster.
“Customers come in for our specialty cakes, brownies and cookies. Our double-chocolate mousse cake is our most popular. On a regular day, we’ll sell 30 of these,” he says.
Birthday cakes, pastries, croissants and chocolate-dipped strawberries also score big with customers. Everything at Butterfingers is created with to display the culinary skills of Haynes and his employees. Many staff members have been with Haynes for years and include members of Haynes’ immediate family.
“I started the business with my father, Vernon. He’s 80 and still comes in to check how things are going. My mom, Catherine, is our bookkeeper. My brother, Joe, and his wife work with us,” he says.
“I have one man, Mike Lieberman of Highland, who started with me as a teenager. He’s been here 20 years.”