1. Brenda Welch Has Never Been to Taco Bell

It’s not because she dislikes it. In fact, she’s careful not to judge people who love it. She simply never went growing up. Major fast food is not something that came to Flat Rock until later, and by the time she realized most people found that strange, the streak had already gone on too long to break casually.

Growing up, meals in Flat Rock were usually homemade, served at church gatherings, or brought over in casserole dishes after long days and bad weather. Fast food just never became part of her routine.

Now she says she’s oddly committed to seeing how long she can go without ever trying it.

 

2. Her First “Boyfriend” Didn’t Technically Know They Weren’t Dating

Brenda has only had two serious relationships in her life, depending on how generously you define the word “relationship.”

One of those involved Cory Singer in sixth grade, who apparently told several girls in Mrs. Johnson’s class that they were dating at the same time. Brenda herself did not learn about this arrangement until much later.

To this day, she refuses to count Cory as an official boyfriend.

 

3. She Has Two Sets of Parents

Brenda’s biological parents died in a car accident when she was young. Afterward, Stacy’s parents took her in and raised her alongside their own daughter.

It’s part of the reason Bear Claw Bakery feels less like a business and more like an extension of family. Brenda grew up surrounded by people who believed showing up for someone mattered more than anything you could say.

It's also the reason that she and Stacy have such a close relationship.

 

4. Her Baking Career Started Long Before Bear Claw Bakery.

Long before Bear Claw Bakery belonged to Brenda and Stacy, Brenda was entering cakes and pies in county fair competitions through 4-H.

She learned early that baking wasn’t just about taste. Presentation mattered. Patience mattered. Precision mattered.

She still remembers the year a judge complimented the consistency of her frosting technique. She also remembers the year she forgot baking powder in a chocolate cake and finished behind a girl from Bemidji she insists “absolutely overmixed her batter.”

Some grudges never fully disappear.

 

5. Brenda Would Choose the Mountains Over the Beach Every Time

Brenda has nothing against water. Growing up in Minnesota, she spent plenty of summers around lakes.

What she dislikes is sand.

Specifically, sand in shoes, sand in towels, sand in cars, and sand somehow remaining in places long after a vacation ends. Given the choice between sitting on a crowded beach or spending a quiet weekend in the mountains with cool weather and coffee nearby, she says she’ll choose the mountains “every day of the week and twice on Sunday.”

 

6. She Has a Musical Soft Spot Nobody Knows About

Most mornings at Bear Claw Bakery begin before sunrise. The lights come on, the ovens warm up, and while the rest of Flat Rock is still asleep, Richard Marx quietly plays through the bakery speakers.

Brenda insists this information was not supposed to leave the building.

There’s something comforting to her about songs filled with love lost, long drives with the windows down, and endless summer nights that somehow feel frozen in history. By the time customers arrive, the music is usually switched to something less embarrassing

But for that first hour or so, the bakery belongs entirely to her and Richard.

 

7. She Has a Secret Crush on Will Shortz

Brenda loves mysteries, logic puzzles, and especially crosswords. For those who don't know, Will Shortz is the editor of the New York Times crossword. Every Sunday, she works through the word puzzle in the Flat Rock Gazette with a cup of coffee nearby and a level of concentration usually reserved for high-stakes negotiations.

Over the years, she has mailed several letters to the Gazette pointing out errors or questionable clues. The paper has repeatedly explained that they do not create the crossword themselves. They only publish it.

Brenda continues writing anyway and the newspaper now simply forwards her letters to the New York Times.

 

8. The Bakery Loses Money on the One of its Desserts

There is one item on the Bear Claw Bakery menu that makes almost no financial sense.

The kringle takes time, expensive ingredients, and more effort than most customers realize. Brenda refuses to cheapen the recipe, substitute lower-quality ingredients, or raise the price beyond what longtime customers can reasonably afford.

Several regulars come in specifically for it, and that alone is enough reason for her to keep making it. To Brenda, some recipes stop belonging entirely to the bakery after enough years. They become part of people’s routines, holidays, and memories.

 

9. Brenda Welch Is Absolutely Terrified of Spiders

Not uncomfortable around them. Not mildly startled by them.

Terrified.

The calm, organized woman capable of handling wedding cake disasters, difficult customers, and murder investigations with remarkable composure completely loses all ability to function when spiders are involved.

There are conflicting stories around Flat Rock involving a broom, a display case, and an alarming amount of screaming. Brenda denies most of them. Not all of them.