Maynard’s Bakery Cafe

The last person who reviewed this place must be a very generous person. I have driven past here several times a week since it opened and finally decided to try it. The first thing you notice when you walk in is the smell – it reeks of very old frying oil, which I’m sure I stink of now. Style-​wise, it’s a hodgepodge of thrift store furniture and linens, «live» plants (most of which are dead or dying) and fake plants. Next to my table on top of a hutch there was a dead fern that had dropped most of its greenery onto the floor or the cobwebs surrounding the hutch. The bathroom was dirty. The place hadn’t been cleaned since it opened.
All of that would be forgivable – even sort of quaint in an off-​putting way – if the food were amazing. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast. I also ordered some decaf and the lady (I assume the owner) paused and said, «I could make you some.» They don’t have decaf made, so I said that would be nice if you want to make a pot. When my food came she walked away like that was it, and I said, «so, is the decaf coming?» She blanked and said she’d bring it right away. I told her if she hadn’t already made it, just to forget about it cuz I’d probably get it about the time my food was gone. The bacon was limp and undercooked, the potatoes not crispy. The eggs were okay. Just a basic «ok» meal.
Needless to say I won’t be going here again. This is really a shame because it’s in a good location and someone could turn it into a great little place.

I stopped here for lunch this last week. I ordered broccoli quiche with a side of fruit. My food was very tasty and the service was quick and the server pleasant. I will definitely come back.

I see someone else made the same comment but this is one I would like to give «zero stars.» We went in for breakfast and there were no patrons at 9am on a Friday. The man there seemed angry that we even came through the door. That was before he knew we had a
gift certificate, which we are increasingly finding gets a negative response anyway. We tried to call ahead to make sure they would honor it but the phone went to voice mail twice. I assumed they were just too busy to answer the phone. Maybe so, but it apparently had nothing to do with the number of customers. When we sat down he acted like he was now even more irritated that we weren’t ready to order immediately.
Anyway, once we mentioned the gift certificate he said he had «cancelled his relationship with them.» He said he would honor it anyway, but I got the feeling he was going to make it painful.
I was right. When he came to take our order, my wife said what she wanted and he asked me what I wanted. But he started walking away before I answered. I said my order and he said, «Okay» and kept walking. I asked if they had orange juice and he said, «No» without slowing down or even looking back. I looked at my wife like «wtf?» She knew I had already decided if they didn’t have orange juice I would order an espresso (because we always try to order more than the minimum on the
gift certificates. We like to support local small businesses.) My wife called out, «He wants an espresso too.» The guy says, «Okay“and again without looking back and then literally threw his note pad in disgust.
We walked out. Let me be clear. We are not rude. We are not inconsiderate. We are not naïve. We were polite and respectful. I don’t know what this guys issue was but we will never bother to find out because he won’t see us again.
It blows me away that someone running a business thinks he can treat people this way and, because there are no other people there, it will be kept private.

Service was great. The food was pretty good but the atmopshere not great. The menu was little and its just hard to compete with all the great breakfast places in town! Really liked the people tho…

This place isn’t as bad as the other reviewers ranted. Yes, its simple, but good food with hearty portions and happy service.
We ordered the breakfast brrito and bowl of fruit, everything was very good. Yes, they could have added onions, sour cream, avacado, and salsa… but it didn’t need it, it ws very good as it was. Its true I could have made the exact same thing but I wasn’t in the mood to cook.
When we left the owner Maynard offered to transfer and top off my coffee into a to-​go cup… this was after the bill was settled and tip already left.
I saw a couple kids working in the kitchen and they look happy, assuming its family, kids these days need a better work ethic, so I’m cool with kids refilling my water and asking if I need anything.
I think they have the potential to make a real go of this restaurant, I do believe then the ambiance will improve, as the location is great across from the Theatre.

I wish I could give Zero stars. Yup. ZERO.
My partner and I ate here on a Sunday morning. There were four other patrons in the establishment. The place was an odd mixture of, well, of nothing really. The place settings were a mish mosh of different styles, almost as if they were picked up at the local second hand store.
I ordered a Ruben which was a mistake. Who serves a Ruben on White Bread? I asked if they made their own potato salad. They said they did then brought me something that appeared to be a mix of Reser’s with some other stuff thrown in. It was really awful.
Our ‘server’ was a small child of about 10 yrs old. What the heck is this all about? After lunch I ordered a cupcake as they are a ‘bakery’. I was served a standard Duncan Hines cupcake with canned frosting.
What a joke. Stay as far away from this place as possible. For the prices you pay, you can get a decent meal ANYWHERE else.

We had 30 minutes until our movie was to begin (at Salem Cinema) and needed a quick bite to eat. Since the only other close food place was Subway, we walked across the street to Maynards
When we walked in I knew the place was going to be odd: sparsely decorated, few customers, and an unsmiling wait-​person. I asked if we would have time to eat in 30 minutes and he said yes. We ordered two Rubens. Although it came with a choice of chips or potato salad, we weren’t asked what we would like, and no drinks were offered.
Within 15 minutes we were served two very home made looking sandwiches. My brother and I looked at each other with the same look we used as kids at Grandma’s house: «What is Gramma serving?!» The sandwiches were obviously made in a frying pan, with just a slight grill on each side. The thing was not crunchy in the slightest and was pretty soft. The bread was falling apart. While the pastrami was moist and tender and the sauerkraut flavorful, the sandwich was missing the traditional thousand island (or Russian) dressing.
The potato salad that accompanied the meal was near flavorless. I say near because I could almost taste the famous Reser flavor, but seemed watered down. The potatoes were odd in that they were sliced instead of cubed, but this didn’t bother me much.
All in all, this «bakery» was more like Grandma’s house than anything else – except that Grandma lost her skill.
I concur with the other reviewer that this place is most likely a cover for the lotto machines tucked into a small room.

Maynard’s Bakery in the up-​and-​coming Grant neighborhood pretends to be something it is not: a bakery! We discovered after a couple of visits that it is really nothing more than another «lottery deli,» a state-​sanctioned place to play video lottery games. The food (and desserts) are secondary.