It was St. Patrick’s Day, and bakeries across the country were churning out Irish soda bread.

"This definitely goes and sells a lot," said Sandra Montoya, DeFilippis Bakery manager, pointing to the shelves of Irish soda bread they baked fresh on Thursday. "Even if you're not Irish, you definitely want to get some butter and just warm it up or toast it."

In addition to the popular baked good, customers noticed a lot of green in DeFilippis bakery on Thursday.

"Today, we have the green cupcakes, and we also have the regular vanilla cupcakes, but with the green icing this year, we started with the sfingi, which is an Italian pastry," Montoya said.

There’s even shamrock-shaped cookies, green-iced donuts, and an unusual option, green bread.

"Some people think it looks funny, but it's just colored bread," said Montoya.

Zachary Robinson’s family has been coming here for a long time. He’s never tried their Irish soda bread, but he loves to buy the St. Joseph's pastries just in time for March 19.

"Definitely, the St. Joseph's pastries, and you always have to get a lobster tail. Those are the two definitely have-to-gets," said Robinson.

Montoya said their secret is in the old recipes they still stick to today.

"Everything is made here. Everything we make from scratch, and that’s what makes us different from everybody else," said Montoya. 

According to the research firm Packaged Facts, sales of home-baking products rose 24% in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, but there’s something special about reaching for that pastry across the counter of your favorite local bakery.

"It's Defilippis. Everyone in Middletown knows it’s the best bakery around," said Robinson.