Le Petit Oiseau Bakery opens (camper) doors in Ashfield

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane. The business is stocked with all types of baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, French pastries, breads and muffins.

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane. The business is stocked with all types of baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, French pastries, breads and muffins. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane.

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane.

Ashfield resident Sita Bird has opened Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which she is running out of a 1963 camper at 48 Meadow Lane. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By GRACE LEE

For the Recorder

Published: 05-29-2024 10:31 AM

Modified: 05-29-2024 11:01 AM


ASHFIELD — Sita Bird and her husband have always loved vintage trailers. So after 15 years of self-taught baking and running an at-home special order baking business, Bird decided to renovate a 1963 camper and fill it with her homemade goods.

The result is a new bakery stand to fulfill customers’ weekend cravings for sweet treats. Le Petit Oiseau Bakery, which is French for “The Little Bird Bakery,” is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 48 Meadow Lane.

The bakery is stocked with all types of baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, French pastries, breads and muffins.

“I kind of love a challenge and I like making things that are unique, and so I just try stuff out,” Bird said.

The idea for the bakery drew inspiration from all the farmstands that pop up in the Pioneer Valley during the harvesting seasons, Bird said. “At the same time, I didn’t want to be out in the elements with the humidity and the insects and all that,” Bird said.

Hence the idea for a bakery inside of a trailer.

However, the restoration process was took longer than expected, Bird explained. This, combined with personal circumstances, set back the plans for opening by a year. The bakery saw its first day in business on May 4.

Bird, who initially came before the Planning Board seeking a special permit in late 2022, noted the process for getting the bakery approved by the town’s health officials, as well as securing all the necessary documentation, was more complex than she had anticipated.

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“It was a lot more complicated than I was expecting … but, you know, it kind of drives you to push you to follow your dreams,” she said.

In the end, “I really had the community supporting me and that was great,” Bird said.

“I got teary-eyed because, you know, to have someone I never met before speak on behalf of how this would be so great for the community was really great,” she said.

Bird also runs a business on weekdays through her home, filling custom orders for cakes, decorated sugar cookies or bulk pastries.

The property, located on a dead-end street, has five parking spots available. Next to the trailer is a seating area for customers.

Bird can be reached on Facebook at tinyurl.com/AshfieldBakery or by email at sitabirdbakery@gmail.com.