This post was originally titled "Dominik Road: Of Beer and Sandwiches". After several rewrites and ultimately spinning off other information, it was rebuilt as an article on Blue Baker 3/4/19.
Built as a restaurant called Danver's Restaurant in the late 1970s (built 1977, possibly opened 1978) that served burgers, sandwiches, and iced tea. It also had a salad bar. (Poor-quality pictures are available somewhere in the Newspapers.com archive and were posted to a Facebook group, but I can't find it).
According to my records, it later became a branch of Texas Aggie Bookstore in the late 1980s (you know, before the name was modified), then Brazos Brewing Company by the mid-1990s, a brewpub that didn't last too long, possibly due to the until-very-restrictive Texas brewpub laws. The coasters were adorned with wheat and hops. By the late 1990s, it was the Brazos Blue Ribbon Bakery (moving from the Villa Maria Rd. location), then later Blue Baker (opened May 2001), which it is today. According to a Blue Baker employee, Brazos Blue Ribbon closed abruptly one day--employees found the door locked, and all the baking equipment was left inside. In fact, a lot of Blue Baker's mixing and baking equipment (including a large brick oven, which is no longer used) is from Brazos Blue Ribbon. Despite the similarity in names, Blue Baker and Brazos Blue Ribbon are not related. Blue Baker was a modern success, and by 2007 a new location had opened up on University Drive. Today, they even have a location in Austin as well as off of Highway 40. More recently (c. 2018), an entrance opened up from George Bush Drive East, allowing direct access that way (but not an exit out).
I actually have a menu from 2002, with prices and items similar to the original 2001 mix (clearly they've gone up...), but I have yet to scan it.
201 Dominik Drive
