Bollo’s Cafe & Bakery to open gluten-free market

Bollo's Gluten-Free Market, located at 139 Jackson Street in Blacksburg, will serve only gluten-free products and plans to open later this fall. Photo by Mike Shaw | The Burgs.

BLACKSBURG – Bollo’s Café & Bakery has been a Blacksburg staple since 1994 and owner Ranae Gillie hopes their next venture will be welcomed into the community in the same manner.

Gillie has plans to open what she believes will be the area’s first all gluten-free bakery and market.

The plan is to open Bollo’s Gluten-Free Market at 139 Jackson Street by late Oct. or early Nov., Gillie said.

The space, Gillie said, won’t have tables and will be modeled after a deli, but without the meat.

Bollo’s Gluten-Free Market will serve made-from-scratch gluten-free items like breads, pastries and cakes. Additionally, other gluten-free items include an assortment of cheese, wine and beer.

Gillie said the market will also offer prepared food-to-go so customers can purchase an entrée and reheat it at home. The market will explore the option of delivering around town via bicycle, she added.

For the past year and a half, Bollo’s, on Draper Road, has been serving gluten-free items on Saturday’s.

In order to serve those gluten-free items, Bollo’s must clean the entire kitchen before baking to ensure the items are truly gluten-free. That’s why they do it only once a week, Gillie said.

Moving into the new space and serving only gluten-free products will allow for Gillie and Pastry Manager Barbara Wright to bake gluten-free products all week long without the hassle.

Wright said Bollo’s began making gluten-free items because of customer demand.

“Our customers were looking for it,” Wright said. “We felt we had to start providing it and that’s what led us to fill that need.”

When Bollo’s began selling gluten-free products, Wright said, the store began to receive many phone calls from customers which helped her and Gillie realize the niche the products had created.

Gillie said two of her employees have been testing and experimenting with all different types of gluten-free items and they’ll be ready to serve up some unique items later this fall.

Among the baked goods, Gillie said items like veggie and salmon burgers will be sold at the market location. The market will be a place for people to come and get unique things, Gillie added.

“Bollo’s has been here 18-years,” Wright said.

“We feel like we’re part of the community and we’re doing this in response to their desire.”

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