COMB AND GET IT

Photos by Nathaniel Harnedy

Home is where the heart is for Honeycomb Bakery owner Kayla Brandt. After traveling the country with her husband, Brandt moved back home to Syracuse in 2020 and opened the bakery with her father that November during a time of transition.

“My dad was just like, ‘For the next while, until I retire, I want to run a bakery with my daughter,’” Brandt said. “I was ready to start baking again after traveling, and kind of just wanted to share everything I had learned with people.”

A love for food and cooking runs in Brandt’s family—with both of her parents having worked in the food industry—but Brandt’s passion was always baking. While her father handles savory treats like quiche, pot pies and cheese rolls, Brandt’s specialty is in sweets. Brandt recalls that growing up, she would make dessert while her father cooked dinner.

Currently on Nottingham Road in DeWitt, Honeycomb offers a variety of European-inspired pastries, cakes, pies and anything else its bakers conjure up. Stop by on the right day, and there might be a Boston cream croissant or a new flavored muffin.

“We'll have our staples, but then we'll always have a different flavor of something for the day,” Brandt said.

But Honeycomb is best known for its croissants. They feature eight to nine staple flavors, including butter, chocolate, almond, pistachio and savory options, too. Customers also love their lemon raspberry and sweet potato donuts.

To switch things up, Honeycomb’s bakers create different-flavored croissants that correlate with holidays and seasons. Jerks, look out for a corned beef and sauerkraut croissant, or try a pumpkin spice one next winter holiday season.

“I like to keep things seasonal so your food and your ingredients are as fresh as you can find them,” Brandt said.

Brandt’s favorite part about running Honeycomb is the customers, most of whom are regulars. From families who stop in with their kids after soccer games to teachers who buy treats for their students, neighbors return again and again.

“They come in and they get so excited about different things to try, and it just brings the community together,” Brandt said. “That's what food does—it's a conversation piece, it's cultural.”

Meeting new people, seeing familiar faces while still getting to be creative every day and making something beloved by many keeps Brandt fulfilled.

“People don't really get upset when you give them a cookie,” Brandt said.