College Friends Open Bakery

The time had come.

Paramus resident and volunteer fireman, Chris Heslin, had tired of working for a Honda dealership.

Megan Olund, formerly of Maine but now living in Nutley, always wanted her own place after baking for others in their bakeries.

“She has been baking for a very long time,” Heslin said.

So in January 2011, the Manhattan College pals, both 27 years old, founded Dough Heads Baked Goods. 

“Everything she makes is super,” says Leo Bonney of Englewood. “Baked fresh every day.” 

Baked fresh from scratch, that is. Or, as Olund, who sometimes bakes 13 hours a day, calls it, “Tail-busting.”

Dough Heads Baked Goods features breakfast pastries, tarts, special occasions cakes, cupcakes, whoopie pies, and a variety of drinks. The bakery has also started serving soups and quiche, and is looking to expand to sandwiches and salads.

“And potpies,” Olund said with a laugh. “I love potpies.”

Word-of-mouth advertising has treated the duo and Dough Heads Baked Goods well. Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Heslin claims Saturday is the busiest day, and people are now bringing their friends to enjoy the delicacies Olund, a former French Culinary Institute student, prepares.

“We have cheerleaders,” she said. Steady clients visit daily, taking up the indoor and outdoor seating.

And when they come, they are greeted warmly by Heslin, who runs the front end while Olund bakes.

“I used to do croissants,” he said, “but I was too slow. Megan is trained. My goal is to learn the kitchen down the road.”

Helen Acevedo delivers mail in Englewood and, coincidentally, her first time on a different route was also her first time inside Dough Heads Baked Goods.

“It’s my first time coming in," Acevedo said. "The smell attracted me. I thought to myself, ‘After I deliver the mail, I’ll have to stop in and get something to eat.”

And Dough Heads Baked Goods not only feeds the local community with tasty treats—some as low as $1—but donations as well. The local garden club, as well as the Tenafly Nature Centerhave been recipients, and Heslin and Olund also sponsor local arts.

“This is more than I hoped for,” Heslin said of owning his own business.

“Most businesses fail because of cash flow,” Olund said. “We’ve been able to put money back into the business, and save money as well.”

Even so, Dough Heads Baked Goods is still a labor of love for both. It all rings true for Heslin.

“At the end of the day, I can go home and relax," he said. "We’re constantly on our feet. But it’s what happens. It’s what you have to do.”

Dough Heads Baked Goods, 15 West Hudson Avenue, Englewood, (201) 871-2321, www.dough-heads.com