When I think of haymakers, I picture farmers on tractors, cutting careful tracks through their fields — especially this time of year, when white-wrapped bales dot Vermont's rolling hills.
I had no clue the phrase also refers to a powerful boxing-ring blow. But when I bit into a breakfast sandwich on one of Haymaker Bun's savory brioche swirls last week, I got the reference: It knocked me out.
Haymaker's new Burlington outpost opened in the former Tomgirl Kitchen space in the Soda Plant on July 4. I'm a longtime fan of Haymaker's bakery and café in Middlebury, where Caroline Corrente and her team have helped Bakery Lane live up to its name since 2018 — even earning a 2023 semifinalist nod for Outstanding Bakery in the James Beard Awards. And the expansion makes total sense: Half of Haymaker's social media followers are in Burlington, Corrente said.
"But I was intimidated, because there's such a strong food culture here," she continued, during a break from stirring mixed-berry jam in the new bakery's open kitchen. "If we were sitting in Middlebury right now, I'd know 75 percent of the people in here. In Burlington, I feel like the new kid on the block."
The Soda Plant is a good block for a food business to be on, despite the ongoing Pine Street construction. Its built-in community of makers has been immediately supportive, Corrente said. And Haymaker is a longtime partner of neighboring Brio Coffeeworks — the new spot serves the roaster's hot and iced coffee but not espresso, and customers are welcome to bring in drinks from Brio's café.
The bones of the space didn't change much from its time as Tomgirl, which closed in February. Haymaker shares the juice bar's bright, white aesthetic; all Corrente had to do was bring in fixtures, tables, chairs and pops of color. A striking black-and-white mural on the wall, painted by former Haymaker barista Liv Cappello of Long Trail Studio, depicts the bakery's two hometowns.
"My husband was like, 'What are you going to do if you keep expanding?'" Corrente said with a laugh, before gesturing at blank walls.
Haymaker's pastry and breakfast menus are similar across the two locations. The only items available every day are the O.G. ($3.75) — a sticky, buttery brioche bun reminiscent of a cinnamon roll but lighter and slightly less sweet — and an excellent chocolate chip cookie ($2.50). The other buns, both sweet and savory, rotate through creative combos such as Suns Out Buns Out ($3.75), with strawberry and pistachio, and the BLG Bun ($5.75), with bacon, sautéed leeks and Gruyère.
The breakfast sandwich was new to me, though it's a Haymaker staple. The menu phrases it as an "upgrade" to any of the bakery's savory buns — not that they need it — with a local fried egg and Cabot cheddar ($8, plus $3 for sausage, vegan sausage or bacon). I opted for the Hot Kale bun, with sautéed kale, leeks and jalapeño Gouda, because a little bit of greens (and spicy cheese) never hurts.
Upon unwrapping, this glorious breakfast situation looks like an ordinary bun; it's sliced hamburger-style with the gently oozing fillings sandwiched in between. I thought it might be a messy endeavor, but it held as well as a bagel or biscuit. To be fair, it didn't last very long.
Haymaker's Burlington lunch menu is also designed for speed. Smaller than at its Middlebury counterpart, it's heavy on grab-and-go items such as salads and grain bowls ($15 to $16), available all day. Sandwiches — including a wild mushroom melt and a classic BLT (both $16) — start at 11 a.m.
Both Corrente and general manager Chloe Speyers split their time between the two spots. So far, Corrente enjoys the early morning commute from her Middlebury home.
"Especially when I'm baking," she said. "There's nobody on the road."
In the fall, the Haymaker team will move wholesale production of its frozen O.G. buns to Burlington. Fall will also bring another life change for Corrente, who said she tends to do such things in pairs: She found out she was pregnant again the same week she signed the lease for the Soda Plant location and is due in November.
Corrente started Haymaker as a home bakery in 2017 when her son, Casey, was 2 months old. Then she and her husband, Matt, opened two businesses in the same riverside space in 2018 — Haymaker and Italian restaurant the Arcadian, which closed in 2021 but offers occasional pop-up dinners.
The "two huge things happening at once" have sort of balanced each other out, she said. It could be a one-two punch for some, but Corrente is making hay while the sun shines.