For more than 50 years, McEntyre's Bakery in Smyrna has produced homemade baked goods as delicious as the ones your grandmother would make. The owners, Steve McEntyre and his sons, Ryan and Brandon, continue the McEntyre family's rich tradition of baking. In fact, tradition is this family's recipe for success.

"We try to keep an old fashioned hometown feel to as much of what we do as we can, but still offer service in a way that's up-to-date through things like e-mail and our website," said Ryan McEntyre.

Family owned and operated, McEntyre's Bakery actually took root when Howard McIntyre Sr. and his son, Howard McEntyre Jr., opened Smyrna Bakery in downtown Smyrna. Howard McEntyre Sr. previously managed Durden's Bakery once on the Marietta Square and Howard Jr. worked there as well. Howard Sr.'s other two sons along with his wife also worked at the bakery.

After Smyrna Bakery closed in 1954, Howard McIntyre Jr. continued baking by opening McIntyre's Bakery in 1959 on Atlanta Road. Howard Jr., his wife and son, Steven, operated the business until 1989 when Steven and former employee Charles Barnett purchased it. When Barnett retired in 2001, Steven's sons, Ryan and Brandon, became partners with their father after their college graduations.

The longevity of McEntyre's success is partly due to their philosophy, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Most of the recipes used by Howard McEntyre Sr. are the same ones baked today. Many of the same cake pans and equipment, such as a 1947 mixer dating back to the Smyrna Bakery, are used today.

"If we've had a customer that has been coming in the last 45 years, their cake that they buy today for their grandchild is the same one that they had when they were 5 years old, 50 years ago," said Ryan.

At McEntyre's, only the best ingredients are used. From the custard in the eclairs to the icing on the cakes, everything at McIntyre's is made from scratch. "We don't make a manufactured product," he added. "It's a homemade product. We're just making a lot."

Not only is the McEntyre's product top notch, it is reasonably priced. "We do our best to charge a fair price. We try not to get the most we can out of people for what they'll pay for it," he said. "We try to run (the business) from a Christian standpoint. We're not trying to make a killing. We're just trying to be fair, to provide a good product. We rely on God to guide us in our business."

Faith in God has seen McEntyre's Bakery through many changes over the years. They operated in Jonquil Shopping Center for 47 years until the center was torn down, requiring a move to Concord Road. Most recently, McEntyre's purchased the shopping center where the business recently relocated to another location on Concord Road. With double the space allowing for indoor seating, McEntyre's now serves sandwiches for lunch.

"It's grown a lot over the last three years," said Ryan. "Our 100 percent belief is that God had his hand on our business the whole time, that he had been preparing us for that move for five or years.

"He opened incredible opportunities for us to own our building after we had rented buildings for almost 60 years. We never could have worked it out by ourselves."

With the expansion, McEntyre's still remains a family affair. Steve, Ryan and Brandon along with other family members actively run the business that has 25 employees. Even if they're not family, the McEntyres try to treat their employees "like they were family," Ryan said.

"We feel like God has supplied us with the perfect people for our business. We're blessed to have a staff that is dedicated to our business and our customers," said Ryan.

In a world dominated by mass production, it's nice to know Cobb County can rely on an old fashioned bakery, McEntyre's Bakery is located at 1184 Concord Road in Smyrna. Call (770) 434-3115 or visit www.mcentyresbakery.com for more information.