For Bacon Lovers

Gracie’s on West Main

If the sizzle and aroma of bacon make your senses come alive, you need to visit Gracie’s on West Main in Leola, where bacon defines the menu.

Owner Jim Rutolo sounds a bit like Forrest Gump’s shrimp-loving friend, Bubba Blue, when he talks about America’s favorite breakfast meat. “Bacon,” he says, “is more than an accompaniment for eggs. It can be used for appetizers and on sandwiches, burgers and salads. It can be used in soups, jams, condiments, drinks and desserts. It’s definitely not just for breakfast anymore.” Bacon has been having its moment of late and no one is happier about it than bacon-loving Jim, who reports that Gracie’s goes through anywhere from 600 to 800 pounds of bacon each week.

What prompted Jim, who is a native of Berks County, to fall in love with bacon? He credits his wife and business partner, Gracie Volker, for that. She was working at a café/bakery in Strasburg, when one evening she arrived home from work with some leftovers that included bacon. “Where did this come from?” he asked of the bacon. When she replied Howry’s, a now-closed butcher shop near Willow Street, he said, “We’re going there!” True to his word, they set off for Howry’s that Saturday (the only day of the week the shop was open). “I was like a kid in a candy store,” he admits.

As they were preparing to leave the shop, Jim spied a football-shaped piece of meat in the case. “What’s that?” he asked. “Irish bacon,” came the reply. Jim reports that in all his years in the kitchen, he had never heard of Irish bacon, which is part of a traditional Irish breakfast that also includes eggs, puddings, baked beans and bread. “I learned that it’s from the shoulder and not the belly,” he explains. He also learned that Mr. Howry had developed a method whereby he cured the meat for 10 days and then smoked it for two days. Jim defines tasting the delicacy, which is leaner than American bacon and is cut into round shapes as opposed to strips, as a “life-changing, transformational moment.”

Those terms also apply to Jim and Gracie’s careers. “I’ve been cooking since I was 5 and was flipping burgers at a pool concession stand by the time I was 11. I’ve wanted to open my own restaurant since I was 9,” he recalls. Culinary school followed, as did stints at everything from pizza restaurants to fine dining establishments. Gracie, who has a degree in history (and Latin), was frustrated by not being able to find a job in her field and applied for a position at the eatery in Strasburg. She fell in love with the hospitality industry, and it became her dream to open a café.

Seeing an ad on Craigslist for a small space in Leola, Jim reached out to the owner and set up an appointment. Then, reality struck. “We didn’t have two nickels to rub together,” he admits. Nevertheless,  the two looked at the space. Jim credits the guidance of God for prompting them to say yes to becoming business owners. In 2013, the two became the proud owners of an 18-seat café. Gracie’s on West Main was an instant hit. “We’ve expanded nine times,” Jim says, noting he lost count of the seating capacity when it reached 200. The restaurant has also undergone numerous renovations. (The two also own Louie’s Kitchen & Bar in Reading, which Jim describes as a Philly-focused sports bar.)

The original menu included a smattering of bacon-centric dishes. “We did the Gourmet Gala,” he says of the event that was once hosted by the Historic Preservation Trust, “and featured some bacon dishes and our bacon jam. The next week, something like 15 people who had been at the Gala came in wanting to order what we had served. That’s when I knew we were on to something.”

Since then, the bacon-centric menu has grown exponentially. Gracie’s began offering a Bacon of the Month and flavors such as double-smoked, whiskey black pepper, Worcestershire black pepper and caramelized. Irish bacon appeared. There’s also a dish called B.A.P.B. (otherwise known as Big Ass Plate of Bacon). There are also two sizes of Bacon Samplers. Of course, bacon makes for the perfect accompaniment for eggs, French toast, omelets, Benedicts and breakfast sandwiches. Many of the sandwiches (including grilled cheese) are spread with bacon jam. Burgers feature bacon. If you are not a bacon lover, fear not, there are plenty of baconless selections on the menu. The dessert menu (items are made onsite) provides a sweet finish to bacon.

Jim loves to experiment with bacon. For Valentine’s Day, Gracie’s served chocolate-covered bacon, and for St. Patrick’s Day, Jim was dreaming of Guinness-molasses bacon. “We’ve experimented with bacon-flavored milkshakes, shoofly-like pies and whoopie pies,” he reports.

What draws people to love bacon? “It’s kind of an indulgence,” Jim theorizes. “You don’t have to eat a lot of it to feel satisfied. And, you feel like you’ve had something special.”

264 West Main Street, Leola
Open daily: Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
Information: Gracieslancaster.com

Historical Tidbits

Salted pork belly dates back to Ancient China. It spread to the Roman Empire (curing methods helped to sustain the Roman army) and beyond. Smoking techniques developed in Medieval England laid the groundwork for bacon as we know it.

A contest held in 12th-century England rewarded faithful couples with bacon, hence the saying “bringing home the bacon.”   

Explorer Hernando de Soto is regarded as the “father of the American pork industry,” as he brought a dozen or so pigs to the New World in 1539. (Three years later, the number had grown to 700!) Native Americans loved pork, hence pigs became a peace offering.

Bacon became a staple in colonial homes due to its long shelf life and flavor.

Oscar Mayer became the first company to mass produce bacon in the U.S. (1920).

During World War II bacon fat was collected and used to make glycerin, an ingredient in explosives.

In the United States, 5.6 billion pounds of bacon are consumed annually.     

The biggest pork-producing states are Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Illinois.