BILLINGS — It's 5 a.m. on Montana Avenue, long before the sun and most Billings residents are up. But there's one light shining brightly inside Veronika’s Pastry Shop as owner Veronika Gerasimova crafts the day's specialties.
That’s the kind of commitment it takes to be named one of the best bakers in the country.
"My goal was to do something that people cannot find in Billings," Gerasimova said.
Mission accomplished. Since opening her store on Labor Day weekend in 2017, Gerasimova has made literally tens of thousands of European and Russian-style pastries.
"They’re like my babies," she said with a laugh. "I treat them very special."
This day's menu features all her classics, including three types of danish; almond and chocolate croissants, raspberry pinwheels, and her No. 1 seller the Kouign-amman, a sweet dough sprinkled with sugar.
"I started making Kouign-ammans from the first day I opened the shop," she said, "and they became so popular."
Gerasimova makes them all in a one-woman space she found after quitting her local government job.
"It’s scary to quit a good job with good pay, health insurance, all the benefits," she said. "But it's ok. People can do pretty much anything. Seriously. They’re just afraid."
Starting a bakery was nothing compared to immigrating to the U.S. from Uzbekistan in 1999 with her 12-year-old daughter, $500, and not a single word of English. She’s come a long way.
"It's true. I'm a talker," she admitted sheepishly.
Customers will often find themselves inside her store for much longer than they were counting on, being regaled by another Veronika story. No one ever seems to mind.
Gerasimova opens every weekday at 8 a.m., and patrons were inside within minutes this morning, all eager to talk about one thing.
"Have we heard about the James Beard award yet?" one customer asked.
Gerasimova would often hesitate at the answer, too shy to brag about the fact that she’s been listed as one of the five best pastry chefs in the country by the prestigious James Beard Foundation. She was selected as a finalist from a pool of 20 semifinalists.
"It's insane. I still don’t believe it," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve that. I didn't go to culinary school. I just do it the way my grandma used to do it, and it works."
A picture of Gerasimova's grandmother sits in the middle of a collage at the front of her store, a nod to the woman Gerasimova says taught her everything she knows.
There are always plenty of repeat customers, but more first-timers are starting to show up early, many because of the James Beard Award nomination.
"I’ve heard about Veronika’s for years," one woman said. "I've been seeing all this news about her nomination and I thought, 'I have to get there and try her pastries.'"
Gerasimova will find out on June 5 if she’s won the award. If she does, the line might get a little longer, but don’t expect much else to change inside this shop built on love.
"I don’t really consider it work. I just what I love to do," she said. "Making money is a bonus. I like that."
Turns out, she’s already a winner.
RELATED:
Roundup BBQ restaurant, Billings pastry chef among nationwide award semifinalists
