Michael and Lizabeth Nichols

You may have seen the Almontree Baking Co. already at the Jacksonville Saturday Farmer’s Market, or up on the Britt Hill. In fact, their first day of business was at the Jacksonville Saturday Farmers Market September 11th of 2010.

They are opening a retail shop at 310 California Street (the corner of Fifth and California) and have a grand Opening on September 9, 10-6.

Lizabeth and Mike Nichols own the business, with Lizabeth doing the baking and having the primary responsibility for the operation. Mike is also a Licensed Handy Man.

Lizabeth moved to Gold Hill Oregon from Southern California in 1976, then to Jacksonville in September of 1984. Michael and Lizabeth have a blended family of six children, 12 grandchildren, and two more grandchildren on the way.

Lizabeth’s family has been encouraging her to branch out and start a business for years. Regarding the past year of markets and events, Lizabeth says, “We’ve been getting a great response and a lot of encouragement from our customers. They always want to know where our retail store is!  I’ve been baking homemade treats out of my kitchen for my family for decades. I started baking as a girl. As a mother, I started baking a lot especially cookies for my children. I would bake them, freeze them in individual packages and pull them out in the mornings and put them in their brown bag school lunch. It was my way of saying I love you. After school sometimes, they would pull them out of the freezer and eat them frozen, which has become a favorite way of eating them for our family.

I love to bake for a lot of reasons. It is truly one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy the craft and art of it. My family loves it and that’s one of the best reasons. I also enjoy it, because I love to eat homemade food made from scratch, with quality ingredients. The response we have received at the Farmers Markets and other events has been so encouraging. I thank God for that and I thank each and every person who has encouraged me so very much after tasting our samples, whether they made a purchase or not. Comments like, ‘ This is the best cookie I’ve ever had,’  and the words of a sweet girl who came by our booth our very first day at least a few times with her girlfriend and just looked with wide eyes. She came back and bought a snicker-doodle. After she took her first bite, she said, with a satisfied smile, ‘mmmmmm I’m in love!'”  The Almondtree Baking Co.’s tagline is, after all, “Luv’n From The Oven!”

About the name:

In the Hebrew culture the almond symbolized the dependability of God. In Lizabeth’s life, the almond tree has come to symbolize the faithfulness of God and of His word in her life. She says, “Starting our business during a time of hardship in our countries difficult economy may not make sense. But that’s one of the very reasons I always tell people who ask me how this all started  ‘It’s a God thing!'”

The almond tree is a large tree resembling the peach tree in both size and fruit. The almond was chiefly valued for the nuts it produced, which were used for making oil used in the home and as medicine. The Hebrew word for almond means “awakening,” an allusion to the almond blossom, which is first to bloom in the spring.

Almondtree Baking Co. selss cookies, cakes, scones, bars, toffee and more. They can be reached at (541) 899-8981, almondtreebakingco@yahoo.com, PO Box 955, Jacksonville, OR., or their Facebook Page.