Latrobe's Dainty Pastry Shoppe renovates and remembers

The Dainty Pastry Shoppe door barely closes on one customer before another swings it open, making a beeline to bakery cases brimming with trays of cookies, doughnuts, pies and cakes.

Decisions, decisions.

Those customers mulling their sweet options keep Curt Colaianne, extended family members and employees busy as the business marks 70 years in downtown Latrobe.

The bakery has relocated a few times, landing at its current location, 339 Depot St., in 1975.

Colaianne and his siblings, David, Jim and Cathy Kasper, took over the family business from parents Bob and Juanita more than 20 years ago.

Kasper later left the business and relocated to Georgia, Curt Colaianne says.

The bakery currently is undergoing a multi-year renovation project administered through the Latrobe Community Revitalization Program’s facade grant program.

New facade, new appeal

The shop is located along a stretch of Route 981 between Routes 22 and 30, Colaianne notes, a gateway for motorists entering Latrobe.

“We thought we would create a new facade with a new appeal to it,” he says.

Other than an occasional paint job, he says, little has changed at the site in over 30 years.

“We thought it was time and an opportunity to change,” Colaianne adds.

Re-pointing and cleaning of the exterior brick work and a new entrance, he says, will give a “fresh look.”

“We’re doing the facade first. The most important part at this point is the exterior,” Colaianne says.

Plans include removal of a roof overhang, a new entryway and door, awning, signs, gooseneck lighting and window murals.

Interior changes already have been made, including the addition of bistro seating for customers and European-style bakery cases.

“We have, since before Christmas, rolled out some old-style and European curvature cases and upgraded the interior. The tables are covered with our logo. It seemed a little more cozy, family-oriented,” Colaianne says.

Long history

“We began on Miller Street in 1947, in the back of my grandfather’s home,” Colaianne says.

The father of five worked as a night baker and decided to go into business for himself.

The second generation of Colaiannes took over in 1971.

Although into their 80s and partly retired, Colaianne’s parents continue to help out with everything from mixing dough to working in the sales office, he says.

The family’s fourth generation may or may not participate in the business in the future, but gave input to the planned changes.

“They were excited about us getting a fresh look, for a slightly different customer base,” Colaianne says.

The owners hope to capitalize on the new housing, and its occupants, coming into the Unity, Greensburg and Latrobe areas.

“The art of baking in a multiple specialty shop … It’s difficult to find people willing to work the long, overnight hours to provide fresh products,” he says.

It’s also more and more challenging to compete with big box stores that operate around-the-clock and sometimes offer lower prices, he adds.

Dainty Pastry Shoppe works to offer the community quality pastries, including small volume requests and specialty orders for area restaurants and corporations, Colaianne says.

“That’s what we do,” he says.

Making the good better

The renovation project is being financed through a mix of the federal Community Development Block Grant program and private funding.

Phase two, expected in 2019, will include the addition of pillars fronting the building and gooseneck lighting and an additional mural on the building’s side.

“This is an historic building. It’s been a landmark for the family operation for years. They have had a presence here forever,” says Steve Patricia, project architect design consultant and artist.

The current exterior is in need of a new design and lighting in order to attract more visitors, he says.

The entire project, overseen by contractor Thomas DiDiano & Son, Inc., is estimated at about $50,000, says Jarod Trunzo, revitalization program executive director.

“The quality of food they have is not represented on the outside,” Trunzo says.

“This family is one of the families responsible for Latrobe being what Latrobe is. … If you wanted something done (in town), you would go to the Colaiannes. They went to other businesses and got it done,” says Christine Weller, city councilwoman and revitalization representative.

“They saw that as a mutual benefit,” Patricia notes.

Patricia pieced together a planned window mural decal from several photographs. It is expected to cover a front-facing window, and includes several generations of the Colaianne family.

“I think it’s going to look pretty nice. I like what Steve came up with,” Colaianne says.

Greensburg’s Blue Sky Sign Co. is preparing that design and murals featuring loaves of freshly baked bread and Bob Colaianne with his original delivery van from 1948.

“The family mural is going to be placed right here on the exterior window,” Colaianne says, gesturing toward the building’s front.

He hopes to see the murals installed by summer’s end.

“Once that happens, I believe things are going to progress at a much faster rate,” he says.

“It will be a well-lit, well-designed place with a sense of history,” Patricia says.

“Pride in place — that’s what we’re trying to instill here,” he says.

Mary Pickels is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-836-5401, mpickels@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MaryPickels.