Bake Blue Bakery Opens Spanish Fort Storefront, Sells Out on Day One

SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Bake Blue Bakery, a mother-and-son business that began in a home kitchen and was built around employing adults with disabilities, has opened its first storefront in Spanish Fort, and on its first day it sold out of everything.

Debra Pennington and her son, Reed Pennington, opened the bakery’s brick-and-mortar location on Monday, Sept. 28, at 6880 Spanish Fort Blvd. Debra Pennington said the shop sold out of all of its baked goods that opening day.

“That’s so exciting and it just confirms that there was a need for a bakery and for a business like this, employing adults with disabilities in this area,” she said.

A business built around inclusion

Debra Pennington founded Bake Blue Bakery with Reed, who has autism. Many of the bakery’s employees also have autism, and Debra Pennington said families of children with autism have come into the new shop and been encouraged to see people like their own children working behind the counter.

That visibility matters to families. Adults with autism and other developmental disabilities often have a hard time finding steady work, and advocates have long pointed to small businesses like this one as a way to build job skills, confidence and community connections. A bakery offers a variety of tasks, from measuring and mixing to packaging and helping customers, which can give workers a chance to find roles that suit their strengths.

For Reed Pennington, the opening still feels a little unreal.

“Although we’re open now, it still does not feel real,” he said. “It’s still hard to believe this is already happening, you know? It’s exciting.”

What’s behind the name

The name Bake Blue carries two meanings. Blue is widely associated with autism awareness, and the name also refers to the great blue heron, a bird the Penningtons see as a symbol of resilience and independence, values they say guide the business.

The great blue heron is a familiar sight around Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, which sit just west of Spanish Fort. The tall, gray-blue wading birds are often seen standing still in shallow water along marsh edges, piers and causeways, waiting patiently for fish, making them a fitting local emblem for a business that grew one step at a time.

From home kitchen to commercial equipment

Before opening the storefront, the Penningtons ran the bakery from their home. The move to a dedicated shop gives them commercial equipment they did not have before, including a new oven, refrigeration equipment and commercial mixers.

That upgrade can make a big difference for a small bakery. Commercial ovens and mixers allow larger batches and more consistent results, and added refrigeration makes it easier to keep items like cheesecake on hand. A storefront also gives customers a regular place to stop in, rather than relying on orders or pop-up sales.

What’s on the menu

Bake Blue’s lineup focuses on classic sweets:

• Cookies
• Cheesecake by the slice
• Whole pound cakes and pound cake slices
• Fresh muffins made from scratch, in apple cinnamon, lemon, blueberry and orange

The muffins are a new addition that the bakery started offering with the storefront opening.

Given the first-day sellout, customers hoping for a particular item may want to visit earlier in the day.

Pound cake and Southern baking traditions

Pound cake holds a special place in Southern kitchens. The name comes from the original recipe, which called for a pound each of flour, butter, sugar and eggs, producing a dense, rich cake that keeps well and travels easily to church suppers, family reunions and holiday tables. Selling the cake both whole and by the slice lets customers pick up a single treat for themselves or a whole cake to share.

Cheesecake by the slice and fresh muffins round out a menu that leans toward familiar comfort baking, the kind of items that make a neighborhood bakery an easy stop on the way to work or an afternoon pick-me-up.

Hours and location

• Address: 6880 Spanish Fort Blvd., Spanish Fort
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Opened: Monday, Sept. 28, 2026

Spanish Fort Boulevard is one of the city’s main commercial corridors, running near Interstate 10 and U.S. 31 and lined with shops, restaurants and offices that serve the fast-growing Eastern Shore.

A growing Eastern Shore community

Spanish Fort sits at the northeastern edge of Mobile Bay in Baldwin County, at the eastern end of the Causeway and the I-10 Bayway. The city takes its name from a Spanish fortification built in the area in the late 1700s, and it was the site of a Civil War siege in 1865 near the end of the war. Today it is a busy suburban community with a mix of neighborhoods, shopping centers and outdoor attractions, including nearby Historic Blakeley State Park and the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center.

Baldwin County has been one of Alabama’s fastest-growing counties for years, and new residents have helped support a wave of locally owned restaurants, cafes and bakeries along the Eastern Shore. Bake Blue joins that local food scene with a mission that goes beyond what comes out of the oven.

Supporting inclusive employers

Residents who want to learn more about autism services and employment programs in the region can find information through organizations such as the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, which offers vocational rehabilitation and job-placement help for people with disabilities. Nationally, groups such as the Autism Society of America provide resources for families and adults on the spectrum.

For the Penningtons, the strongest sign that the bakery is filling a need came on opening day, when the shelves were empty by closing time.