"Thank you for the food before us, the friends and family beside us and the love between us," is an often recited blessing around the Blaine family table. It serves as the foundation for their business as well.

Welcome to Strong Arm Baking. Owned by Julia and Thomas Blaine and based in the Granville County community of Wilton since 2014, Strong Arm brings together many ingredients to create food greater than the sum of its parts. The food creates a bond weaving care through the folks in the community.

"I love putting food in people’s homes," says Julia. "Knowing it is going to make their day better."

The Blaine’s journey has been multi-layered and their two children are icing on the cake. Six years ago. Julia, ready to try a new path, honed her skills at La Farm Bakery in Cary and Scratch in Durham.

Her husband, Thomas, built a wood-fired oven for Julia for her pastry and bread experiments at their home using a manual from 1885. The oven served as the centerpiece of a complete transformation of their kitchen (and home) into a full-service bakery where ovens share space with mixers, fridges are stuffed with ingredients and racks are stacked with the baked goods of the day from loaves of bread to pastries and pies.

Strong Arm began selling their goods at local farmers markets and started a few bread share pop-ups. From Wake Forest to Warrenton to Oxford, Julia’s fresh bread, pies, and pastries kept customers coming back for more. An ex-marine and firefighter, Thomas discovered he also had a knack for baking — with croissants being his specialty. "I’d put his butter and chocolate croissants up against anyone on the East Coast," Julia shared while singing his praises.

A true labor of love, the bakery evolved into a full-time business. With a pledge to local sourcing and freshness, their menu can be tracked by the season with strawberry pop-tarts yielding to blueberry lemon coffee cakes into the summer crowd-favorite of tomato pie. The fall finds customers devouring apple cakes and butternut-sage pastries.

The local ingredients come from partners across the regions including: milk from Mapleview Farm in Hillsborough; berries from Lyon Farms and Corn Hill Farms; produce from Sugar Hill and Fieldstone Garden; and eggs from Cha Cha’s Chicken Palace.

Why source locally? "It is all about making our products taste better," explains Julia. "We choose ingredients that are just picked or delivered from the farm that day, and we always work with what is in season." – The results deliver a taste of Granville in every bite. Beyond the freshness of the food, is the trust in the source – Julia and Thomas. This trust is reflected in their offering of "Harvest Dinners" once a month in Oxford.

With the successful growth in their business, the need to expand inspired them to open their own restaurant: Strong Arm Kitchen and Bakehouse located in downtown Oxford at 117 Main Street. The full restaurant and bar in a historic renovated building will maintain a sharp focus on the freshest ingredients featuring pizzas, vegetables and small, shareable dishes.

Julia and Thomas are delighted about opening in Oxford. "It is a community that likes to get together around food," exclaims Julia. "We want to make sure it is affordable – a place you can go once a week, not once a month or just for special occasions," Julia continues.

The couple will also continue with their monthly Harvest Dinners, also hosted at the restaurant. Once a month Strong Arm offers a 4-course, fine dining experience. Extremely popular with their guests, the evenings often sell out in two minutes once announced online. Like concert tickets, Julia says, "people will wait on their computer until tickets go on sale." The menu is not be set at the time of purchase, but customers know the Blaine’s will wow them.

The bond around food is not simply one of assurance that all are taken care of, but rather that sharing is the most genuine sign of love, concern, and friendship. From the child breaking off a piece of cookie to give to a friend, to the sharing of tastes around a table, "you have to try this!" food brings us together…bonds us together. Julia, Thomas and Strong Arm embrace this spirit.

"I cook to express my love for the people around me. I see it as a gift…something that bonds us." Explains Julia. It is truly a wonderful gift, and one that Granville County cherishes.

For more information on Strong Arm Baking (and the restaurant), visit www.strongarmbaking.com