Atwater's Catering

Introduction / Overview

Atwater's Catering represents a unique and foundational part of the Baltimore-Washington food landscape, embodying a deep commitment to traditional food crafted by hand and a philosophy centered on local sourcing. Since its beginnings in 1999 as a small bakery focused on making just one kind of bread, Atwater's has expanded into a multi-faceted operation that is much more than just a caterer. It is a full-scale Bakery, a sophisticated Caterer, a pioneering Farm, and a specialized Food products supplier.

The heart of the operation is the Big Kitchen—a 20,000-square-foot facility in Baltimore that acts as a temple for healthy, delicious, and traditional food production. This is where their famous sourdough bread is mixed and hand-shaped daily, using organic wheat ground into flour in-house. But the offerings stretch far beyond the perfect loaf. Atwater's has become a recognized name for its hearty soups, gourmet sandwiches, salads, Scottish pies, and high-quality artisan products like jam and cheese.

What truly distinguishes Atwater's is its dedication to a sustainable, farm-to-table model, featuring their own urban farm in West Baltimore. This vertical integration means that when you choose Atwater's, you are choosing a business that controls the quality of its ingredients from the ground up, bringing fresh, wholesome ingredients to the community. Whether you are looking for a reliable caterer for a large event, an exquisite dessert like their popular wedding cupcakes, or simply the best handmade bread and artisanal cheese in Maryland, Atwater's is the source.

Location and Accessibility

The central hub for Atwater's Catering and the celebrated Big Kitchen is located strategically within Baltimore, serving as the main production facility for all their retail locations and catering operations throughout the region. This is the source where the fresh food journey begins for many Maryland customers and event guests.

The main address for this integral Baltimore operation is:

2905 Whittington Ave, Baltimore, MD 21230, USA

While Atwater's operates multiple retail shops and serves various farmer's markets across the Baltimore-Washington area, this Whittington Avenue location serves as the main point for their expansive catering and production needs. Customers can utilize the essential service options available here, including In-store pickup for their catering and larger orders, as well as Takeout services. The facility has ensured Wheelchair accessible entrance is provided, demonstrating a commitment to accessibility for all local patrons and partners coming to the Big Kitchen.

Services Offered

Atwater's Catering offers a sophisticated and vertically-integrated suite of food services, specializing in scratch-made, traditional products:

• Full-Service Catering: Providing food perfect for meetings, family gatherings, parties, and community events. Offerings range from platters of sandwiches, salads, and soups to complete boxed meals for breakfast or lunch. They require a $250 minimum for weekday delivery.
• Artisan Bakery Production: Daily production of traditional, hearth-baked breads made with organic, house-ground flour. Varieties include Walnut-cumin, Kalamata Olive, Cherry Pecan, and Peasant Wheat, often made without added sugar or fats.
• Dessert & Pastry Provision: A wide selection of pastries and sweets for retail and catering, including Chocolate Dipped Macaroons ($1.85), Vegan Brownies ($4.00), and custom event desserts like their highly praised wedding cupcakes.
• Artisan Cheesemaking: Proudly one of the few cheesemakers in Maryland, they produce artisan cheeses—including Camembert-style, Gouda-style, and Feta—from local Ayrshire cow's milk sourced from Palmyra Farm in Hagerstown.
• Prepared Foods & Deli Items: Production of hearty homemade soups, gourmet sandwiches, and fresh salads, available through their retail locations and catering menus, often using seasonal and locally grown ingredients.
• Retail Food Products Supplier: Supplying their own line of house-made products, including jams (Blackberry Peach, Blueberry Ginger), and other pantry items like crackers and Scottish pies.
• Beverage Service: Offering a variety of drinks including Regular Hot Coffee, Espresso Double Shots ($2.50), Iced Tea ($2.50), and Orange Juice ($3.00).

Features / Highlights

Atwater's stands out in the Maryland food community due to its unique operating model and unwavering commitment to quality and locality:

• Farm-to-Table Authenticity: The company operates its own urban farm in West Baltimore, the "Big Kitchen Farm," which adheres to organic practices and permaculture principles to supply fresh, wholesome produce directly to their kitchen, embodying a true farm-to-table ethos.
• Traditional Bread Craft: They are famous for making bread the old-fashioned way, using sourdough starters and certified organic grains, resulting in an award-winning loaf with traditional methods that can take up to 12 hours to complete.
• Maryland Artisan Cheesemaker: Atwater’s is one of the only cheesemakers in Baltimore City, turning local, high-quality Ayrshire cow’s milk into a variety of artisan, raw-milk cheeses, available for sale across their locations.
• Highly Praised Catering: The catering division is highly recommended, particularly for events like weddings, where customers have successfully utilized their flexible and delicious cupcakes as an alternative to traditional cake, noting their accommodation for allergy-conscious ingredient lists.
• Foundation Foods Focus: Their mission centers on "foundational foods" like bread, soup, and cheese, emphasizing the importance of simple, high-quality, and nutritiously preserved ingredients.
• Wide Local Network: Atwater's products are available across multiple retail locations in the Baltimore area (including Belvedere Square, Catonsville, and Canton) and various farmer's markets, ensuring broad accessibility for Maryland consumers.
• Commitment to Community and Sustainability: The Big Kitchen Farm is also in partnership with local organizations, demonstrating a commitment to both local agricultural economics and community sustainability initiatives.

Contact Information

For catering inquiries, large orders, or information regarding the Big Kitchen operations, customers in Maryland can reach Atwater's Catering using the following details:

Address:

2905 Whittington Ave, Baltimore, MD 21230, USA

Phone:

(410) 644-3435

What is Worth Choosing

Atwater's Catering is emphatically worth choosing for Maryland users who value authenticity, local sourcing, and uncompromising traditional quality. This is not a chain that simply buys and resells; it is an integrated food system that actively grows its own produce, mills its own grain, and makes its own artisan cheese and jam. When you choose Atwater's, you are directly supporting a sustainable supply chain that often utilizes locally sourced ingredients from Maryland farms, such as meat from Deer Meadow Farm and eggs from Springfield Farm.

The quality of their staple products is a primary reason to choose them. Their bread is a true craft, described as hand-shaped, hearth-baked, and made using traditional methods that result in an award-winning, wholesome loaf. This quality extends directly to their catering service; whether you require a simple, hearty soup and sandwich platter or specialized wedding cupcakes, the ingredients are guaranteed to be high-quality and often house-made.

Furthermore, for event planners, the praise for their catering team's professionalism and willingness to accommodate dietary needs (including providing ingredient lists for allergy awareness) makes them a stress-free and reliable choice for both corporate and personal gatherings. By choosing Atwater's, Baltimore customers are investing in a decades-long tradition of "traditional food crafted by hand," ensuring their meals and events are supported by a local company with a deeply rooted passion for healthy, delicious, and community-conscious food production.