It’s a long and winding drive to get to Butterscotch Pastry Shop, no matter where your departure point is. You will pass roads and towns you’ve never heard of, even if you’re a local who grew up a few miles away. You may miss the turn if you’re coming from the east because from Flowing Springs Road, the building looks like just another charming late 19th-century home that can be found at just about every crossroads in rural Pennsylvania.
Not long ago, this was an antiques shop owned by the beloved Antiques Roadshow host Richard Wright, who grew up in the area and died in 2009. In 2017, the owners of the acclaimed Birchrunville Store Café across the street turned it into a daytime showcase for exquisite desserts and sandwiches.
Once you get there, you will never want to leave. The place retains the warmth and charm of Wright’s emporium, with a fireplace, custom wood tables, and decor that includes repurposed rolling pins, copper pipes and tractor seats. Then there’s the food: flaky croissants, light-as-air souffles and the signature butterscotch muffins served with warm butterscotch sauce. A changing roster of open-faced sandwiches and salads rounds out the lunch menu.
I can’t think of a better place to spend a cold Sunday morning, but things get even more inviting in springtime or early fall, when you can enjoy your coffee and treats outside on a table next to Birch Run creek.
Info: Butterscotch Pastry Shop, 406 Hollow Rd., Birchrunville; phone: (610) 827-0900. Open Thursday through Sunday.
Exploring Pennsylvania 
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