Mertie’s Oven granola is baked with organic thick rolled oats, locally harvested wildflower honey, and generous portions of whole nuts, organic seeds and dried organic fruit. Each batch is carefully hand-mixed and slow-baked to perfection to produce the granola’s signature toasty flavor. Mertie’s Oven granola can be found at several Athens area venues including the Athens Farmers Market, Daily Groceries Co-Op, Two Story Coffeehouse, and online through Athens Locally Grown, Conyers Locally Grown, and RNB Locally Grown (serving the Atlanta area).

The Story:

Maria Doerr began her one-woman granola-baking operation in 2007 while completing her Romance Languages degree at the University of Georgia. The inspiration for starting a food business came upon her return from a summer in France, where she had apprenticed as an assistant goat cheese-maker on a small family farm. After starting out in a basement kitchen with one small oven, Mertie’s Oven has since moved to a large church kitchen where Maria pays her rent in part by volunteering to help organize meals for the local homeless community. Maria would like to thank her mother, Suzanne Bourgeois, for her help in the development of the Mertie’s Oven granola recipes and for passing down all her wonderful kitchen wisdom and passion for food. Special thanks also to Chris Doerr, Maria’s father, for his help with this website and for giving her the nickname “Mertie,” and Anne Marie Bourgeois, who has graciously allowed her artwork to be displayed on the Mertie’s Oven labels. More of her beautiful artwork, along with prints, can be found at http://www.bluecatgallery.biz