Three-year-old Genesis Brown and five-year-old Ryder Brown dig into their pieces of cake at the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery owner Pam Berry carried a tray of cake slices with dollops of vanilla ice cream out to the front of her business, to refill a standing table with signage encouraging customers to, “Have some cake with us!” And it seemed like her customers had done just that throughout the day, as she was placing the last few slices of the three 40th anniversary cakes — chocolate, vanilla and spice with apple filling — out on the table over an hour before closing time.

According to Berry, celebrating the bakery’s 40th anniversary with free cake and ice cream was a no-brainer, as it was also the way she chose to benchmark the bakery’s 25th anniversary. At that time, she had owned the bakery for a decade, after purchasing it from its second owner in 1997.

“It’s just fun to do — we enjoy it. And that’s what we do, cake!” Berry said. “Bakeries, to make it 40 years in this day-and-age, are few and far between. We’re kind of swimming upstream with the competition with grocery stores and such like that, so it’s good to note for our staff and ourselves that we’re still here, surviving and thriving.

“We’ve had a lot of people who have dropped in,” Berry said, mentioning that she was especially pleased that the bakery’s second owner, Gary Little, visited in the morning. “The original owner, Howard Butcher, passed away. The second owner, who was here earlier today, picked it up in 1985, I think.”

For Shepherdstown native Virginia Christman, who currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pa. with her husband and two children, the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery was an unforgettable part of her childhood.

Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery owner Pam Berry refills a table with plates of cake and ice cream, celebrating the bakery's 40th anniversary on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

“I just always loved being like, ‘Yeah! The baker in my town is Mr. Butcher,'” Christman said, as she selected pieces of 40th anniversary cake from the table, for herself and her three-year-old and five-year-old children. “I remember being a little kid and getting donuts from Mr. Butcher when the bakery was [located] down the street — he had fresh donuts every day!”

“We would walk into town as students at the junior high,” Christman recalled with a smile. “That was the best, when everybody would walk into town — we’d get food at Tony’s, the Sweet Shop and Jolt.”

A number of tourists happened upon the 40th anniversary celebration by accident, as they came to seek out a substantial bite — like Christman purchasing pepperoni rolls — or a sweet end to a busy day.

“We went to the Bavarian Inn just for lunch and a couple of beers,” said Greg Mozingo, of Chambersburg, Pa., as he and his wife, Sharon Mozingo, took some time to browse through the bakery’s desserts. “I’m a dessert freak!”

As longtime customers over the years they’ve visited Shepherdstown, Sharon said they’ve found a number of favorite desserts at the bakery.

Greg and Sharon Mozingo, of Chambersburg, Pa., pick out slices of the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery's 40th anniversary cake on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

“Everything’s good!” Sharon said, before pointing out her favorite chocolate and cake creations in the bakery display case. “I think the best thing here is the food and the taste, but then the service, as well — customer service is everything in a restaurant or shop of any type. I think the service here is number one, most definitely!”

Community members and visitors alike sample sweets from Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

Deb and Frank Stewart, of Maryland, snack on slices of the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery's 40th anniversary cake, while browsing the bakery goods, on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston