By Steve Barnes
TROY — The baker and pastry chef Melanie O'Malley, who has been selling her gluten-free fare at farmers markets and to private clients for nine years under the O'Malley's Oven name, recently opened her first storefront location, at 455 Fulton St.
The shop regularly features tarts, tortas, minicakes, cream puffs, crullers, cookies and more among the sweet treats, with a smaller selection of savory goods including hand pies and soda bread.
Three-layer frosted cakes, cheesecakes, coconut-carrot cake and flourless chocolate tort are also available by special order.
The shop, between Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue downtown, is open 10 a.m., to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, with its booth at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market also open on Saturday. Its first day of service was March 12.
O'Malley's Oven products are usually available at Nine Pin Ciderworks' tasting room in Albany's warehouse district and The Chatham Berry Farm in Chatham as well.
O'Malley previously baked in a commercial kitchen at a school where she worked, but more recently, with a home-processor's license, she was using the kitchen at StringSmith Instruments in Castleton; the owner — her father, Kevin Smith — has been making fretted instruments including the Vagabond Travel Guitar for more than 30 years. Given that connection, O'Malley said she was pleased to learn that among the earlier tenants of her new location was a guitar shop.