Skip to content

Baker brings Swiss-German treats to Dilworth

By Tom Hanchett

Swiss2Walk inside the old red-brick Mecklenburg County Market in Dilworth and you can feel for a moment like you are in Switzerland or Germany. On Saturday mornings Angelika Brunner presides over a table overflowing with elegant home-baked cherry Linzer tortes, colorful cookies and big soft pretzels.

When Brunner was growing up in Goldach, Switzerland, across a lake from Germany, she took Swiss-German food for granted. Arriving in Charlotte 27 years ago, she realized she would have to recreate those tastes.

“I had learned to bake in the schoolhouse,” but seldom did it, she says. Now she took to baking in earnest and discovered she loved it.

First came cookies. Spitzbuben, heart-shaped and filled with raspberry jam. Vanillegipfel, crescent shaped with walnut dough. Meringues, swirled like whipped cream. Sugar cookies and shortbread squares, plain or chocolate.

“We just had them at Christmas back home,” she says. “Here people like them year-round for parties.”

Gradually she added more recipes gleaned from German and Swiss books.

Pretzels are a steady seller. Forget the small, hard pretzels we get in U.S supermarkets. These are soft and chewy, looped into shape by hand.

“I’m always experimenting,” Brunner smiles. That includes gluten free cookies and vegan treats. And after 27 years in America, her own version of a U.S classic: banana bread.

Swiss Bakery (inside Mecklenburg County Market)
Brunner is on-hand Saturdays 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Her baked goods are available whenever the Market is open:
Wednesday 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday – Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

1515 Harding Place
Charlotte, NC 28204
(704) 301 – 8029

Center City & nearby
Carolina apple cider
Indian street food
Greens from South Carolina
Upstate NY Italian sausage
Swiss-German bakery
Blackberry memories of Brooklyn
Puerto Rican kabobs
South Boulevard, South Tryon & southward
Mexico + Greece = holiday treats
Cuban box pig
Snack foods from India
SC meets Vietnam
Little corner of El Salvador
Arepas from Venezuela
Indian sweets for Diwali
Colombian soup
Korean at China Wing
Indian food in south Charlotte
Mexican take-out
Mexican Tamaleria
Fort Mill — real Chinese
Ready for Laotian food in Charlotte?
Psst! There’s a European Market hidden just south of Ballantyne
Independence Boulevard, Monroe Road & environs
Nigeria in east Charlotte
Korean BBQ
Brazilian bakery
Secret Greek grocery
Colombian BBQ & snacks
Detroit hot dogs
New York bagels
Halal Latino
Russian-Turkish Grocery
Iran Kabobs in Matthews
Ramen in Matthews
Russian picnic fare
Armenia in Matthews
Katayef – holiday dessert at Pita Kabab in Matthews
Crispy NJ pizza comes to east Charlotte
Central Av, Albemarle Road & vicinity
Family-style Ethiopian
Dominican street food
Jamaican black cake
Somali stew and sides
Schawarma from Jerusalem
Oriental buns
Greek pastries
Bosnian sausages
‘Tis the Season for Champurrado
Latino bakery feeds a region
Taste Monterrey, Mexico
Tamales in Plaza Midwood
One restaurant, three Latino traditions
Guatamala in east Charlotte
Mexican Seafood
You buy – We fry
Dominican Deli
French/Vietnamese pastry arrives in east Charlotte

North Tryon, UNCC area & northward
Asian Moon Cakes
Mexican carnitas
Beef on Weck from Buffalo
Indo-Chinese
Dominican fruit shakes, pressed subs
Mexican ice cream
Louisiana Viet crawfish
Salvadoran comfort food
NYC pastries – Lake Norman
Vegetarian eats from south India
Indian Dosa Night
Middle East via Lynx
Bahn Mi Brothers
Ethiopian sandwiches
Turkish near UNCC
BBQ from Pakistan
Find a taste of Hyderabad at Nawabs Kebabs
Westward
The Patio at Our Lady of Guadalupe
NC fish camps
Fried baloney
Grits & cornmeal
El Tamarindo
Laos in Kings Mountain
Lawrence Caribbean
Multiple Places & Food Trucks
5 eateries for Black History Month
Charlotte’s International food scene
South’s Love Affair with Soft Drinks
5 Places to “Eat Northern”
Northern Favorites: Six More Eateries
Curry journey: Vietnam, Trinidad, India
Spiedies – Food Truck
5 best bites on Albemarle Road
Lao Sausages – Food Truck
Western Indian – Food Truck
Himalayan flavors – Food Truck
Shaved ice goes global in Charlotte