It is easy to like The Little Bake Shoppe, and not because it quaintly amends its name with ye olde letters P and E. It really is a charming little place with staff who are friendly in a small-town way that hospitality school cannot teach.
Beyond its pleasant character, The Little Bake Shoppe lures me to the eastern end of Aiken County for a sweet bologna sandwich. To be clear, sweet bologna, aka Lebanon bologna, is different from the bubblegum-pink discs that Oscar Mayer makes. It is all-beef with a smaller diameter that is more like salami, the meat firm, spicy-sweet, and vaguely smoky. The last time I visited, it wasn’t available. A woman behind the counter told me that the proprietor was currently in Pennsylvania, where the bologna is made; and she will be bringing some back soon. With mustard on rye, it’s a great lunchmeat.
