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CARY – After a seven-year hiatus, the Plazaks are back in the restaurant business with catering shop and deli Breaking Bread.
Teri and Chris Plazak, who have lived in Cary for almost 30 years, previously owned The Coffee Station on Main Street. They sold that business and embarked on new careers – Chris in the hospitality industry, and Teri in marketing – but there was something missing.
“We still ran into people from all over town, saying, ‘You need to open a new place; we miss you,’” Teri Plazak said. “We really felt like our niche that we had at The coffee shop never got filled, and we still had people asking us to cater.”
For about two years, they researched other places, sampling different foods and combinations of sandwiches to come up with a menu they feel is unique to the Cary and Fox River Grove area.
Breaking Bread opened in July on Route 14, next to the Ziegler’s Ace Hardware.
Some items are carried over from The Coffee Station, such as the Italian grilled cheese with toasted Italian bread, melted mozzarella cheese and Italian spices.
A popular sandwich has been the fried chicken sandwich, which has shaved fried chicken, bacon, and a pepperoncini and feta sauce all toasted together with pepperjack cheese.
“Dirty dogs” are another feature on the menu. The hot dogs are smothered in various toppings, such as the Pork and Puppy dog with bacon, onion and American cheese.
The restaurant’s atmosphere is important to the Plazaks, which is why they came up with the name Breaking Bread.
“Bring the people back to the table, back to family eating, back to hanging out with each other,” Teri Plazak said. “We really wanted it to be a community place, and, so far, it’s doing that.”
It’s also a family business, with the husband and wife back in the kitchen, their oldest son manning the register, and their two youngest kids working on weekends now that they’re back in school.
The restaurant walls are decorated with a chalkboard so customers can write down their “bucket list.” For a chance to win a free lunch, there’s also a place for people to hang pictures of their pets, family or places they’ve been.
“We had one little boy who is losing his sight,” Teri Plazak said. “On his bucket list was to go to Yellowstone Park. So he wrote that, and his parents came in and said they’re taking him there.”
Doors close at 4 p.m., although catering is available after hours. Plazak said they’re considering staying open for dinner, but what the business will look like in the future is evolving.
“Right now the plans are to hang on to this, build it and grow it and maybe expand it in some way down the road,” Teri Plazak said. “We can see it growing into a dinner place. Who knows, maybe even a bar. Whatever the community tells us to do.”
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Breaking Bread Catering & Deli
638 Northwest Highway, Cary (next to the Ace Hardware)
Hours: Daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Sundays. Open before and after hours for private events. Dine-in, takeout and delivery available.
Website: www.breakingbreadcary.com
Phone: 847-516-2223