Get to Hadorn’s Bakery on West Flaget Street early for a Yum Yum, then walk a block for coffee at Fresh or Lem’s Cafe, because the bakery doesn’t sell any. That’s the Bardstown morning in two stops. For a proper roaster with a drive-thru, Garage Coffee on Lincoln Way is the one locals line up for. In the afternoon, the soda fountain inside Hurst Drug still makes milkshakes the old way, and the best sweet souvenir, the monks’ bourbon fudge, is a short drive south at Gethsemani.
Coffee and sweets at a glance
| Place | What it is | Address | Hours as published | Go for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadorn’s Bakery | Family bakery | 118 W Flaget St | Tue-Sun 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m.; closed Mon | Yum Yums, custard donuts |
| Fresh Coffee, Pastries & More | Bakery-cafe | 114 N 3rd St | Mon-Fri 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; closed Sun | Pour-over, cinnamon rolls, lunch |
| Lem’s Cafe | Coffee shop | 105 E Flaget St, Suite B | Closed Tue-Wed; open weekends from 8 a.m. | Single-origin coffee, Sunday mornings |
| Garage Coffee Roastery | Roastery and cafe | 107 Lincoln Way, Suite E | Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sat 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; closed Sun | House-roasted espresso, crepes |
| Hurst Drug soda fountain | 1950s-style fountain | 102 N 3rd St | Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Sun | Milkshakes, banana splits |
Hadorn’s Bakery: get there before the Yum Yums go
Hadorn’s is a third-generation family bakery that opened in Louisville in 1935 and moved to Bardstown in 1977. Everything is made on the premises, and Bardstown Main Street notes it was Tripadvisor’s number one Bardstown restaurant three years running, which is quite a feat for a place that closes at lunchtime.
The order is the Yum Yum, a cinnamon twist with a chocolate drizzle. Reviewers also swear by the Apple Jack (“a religious experience,” in one Tripadvisor review), custard-filled donuts, cinnamon rolls and donut holes. It also makes cookies, danishes and scratch cakes, including custom birthday cakes if you call ahead on (502) 348-4407.
Timing matters. Hadorn’s opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closes around 1 p.m. or when the trays are empty; one Saturday visitor found slim pickings by 11 a.m. It has been known to close for a week or two in July, too. There’s street parking and a little outdoor seating. The Hadorn’s Bakery page has more.
Fresh: coffee, pastries and a good lunch
Fresh Coffee, Pastries & More sits at 114 North Third Street in a bright, roomy storefront. It pours coffee from Good Folks Coffee, a Louisville roaster, including pour-over, and bakes its own pastries and cinnamon rolls. Bagel sandwiches and smoothies cover breakfast, and a daily-changing lunch runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fresh’s own site describes a low-to-zero-waste kitchen: the menu follows the seasons to cut waste, and used grounds are composted at Bernheim Arboretum. It also scoops Kentucky Creamery ice cream, the local small-batch maker that has no storefront of its own, per Kentucky Creamery. You can order ahead online and pick up curbside from the back lot. Reviewers love the friendly staff and the espresso, and one called the prices “slightly steep.”
Lem’s Cafe: the Sunday coffee and a family story
Lem’s Cafe is named for Lem Reed, whom the cafe describes as the Hall of Fame banjo player of My Old Kentucky Home, and owner Amanda Reed Ogilvie is his great-granddaughter. It began as a mobile pop-up in 2024 and moved into a brick-and-mortar space at 105 East Flaget in June 2025, sharing it with Bourbon City Kitchen & Trade Company, per the cafe’s opening post.
Expect ethically sourced single-origin coffee, cold brew, a vanilla chai latte, smoothies and “light and fluffy” biscuits and breakfast sandwiches. One Google reviewer quoted on the site, a self-described coffee snob, ranks it among the best coffee in the area. The key detail for visitors: Lem’s bills itself as downtown’s only coffee shop open on Sundays. It’s closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and the published schedule runs roughly 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays it’s open and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Check the site, which posts special hours.
Garage Coffee Roastery: roasted in-house, with a drive-thru
Dave and Jennifer Collie moved from California in 2020, started handing out coffee from their home garage and grew a following with Saturday garage-door “block parties” that drew 60 to 70 people, the Kentucky Standard reported. They opened the cafe on December 9, 2024, in the former Grandma’s Ice Cream spot at 107 Lincoln Way.
Garage Coffee roasts its own beans and serves espresso drinks alongside crepes, homemade Pop-Tarts, muffins, scones, breakfast burritos, veggie wraps and salads. It opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays, the drive-thru window makes it the best grab-and-go before a distillery run, and it’s pet-friendly with WiFi, parking and step-free access.
Hurst Drug: the soda fountain
Inside a working pharmacy and gift shop at 102 North Third Street, Hurst Drug keeps what it calls one of the very few remaining old-fashioned soda fountains. Order a milkshake or malt and it arrives in a tall glass with the extra in the metal tin; chocolate peanut butter is a favorite. There are hot fudge sundaes, banana splits, ice cream sodas, root beer floats, and a lunch counter with burgers and chicken salad sandwiches. Reviewers describe it as “like walking back in time 50 years.” A milkshake runs about $9. Cards carry a surcharge, so bring cash, and note that it’s closed Sundays. The Hurst Drug soda fountain page has the story.
More sweet stops (call ahead)
Two more places are listed on current directories but had no dated 2025 or 2026 reviews when this guide was checked, so they’re likely open, but call ahead.
Deez Beanz, at 999 Bloomfield Road outside downtown, is a coffee shop known for the largest sugar-free menu in town and the earliest opening of any coffee shop found, 6 a.m. on weekdays; phone (859) 806-9810.
Big Wally’s Ice Cream & More, at 111 North Third Street a few doors from the courthouse, is a retro ice cream parlor that also does hot dogs and nachos, generally from midday into the evening. Confirm hours on its Facebook page.
Bourbon fudge and other sweets to take home
The sweetest souvenir in the county comes from the Abbey of Gethsemani, about 12 miles south, where Trappist monks make bourbon fudge and fruitcake sold at the Welcome Center. Both sell out around the holidays. For honey, jellies, breads and pastries from local growers, the Bardstown Farmers Market runs Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings in season. Downtown’s gift shops carry Kentucky-made treats too; see the shopping in Bardstown guide.
A sweet walking loop
Start at Hadorn’s at 7 or 8 a.m., carry the box to Lem’s on East Flaget for coffee (not on Tuesday or Wednesday), then browse North Third Street as the shops open around 10 a.m. Break at the Hurst fountain for a shake after lunch. Every stop is within a few blocks of Court Square, and the public lot at 113 East Flaget Avenue is central. Pair it with the breakfast and brunch guide if you want a sit-down meal too.
