First things first: Black Water Bakery isn’t named after the nearby refuge. For Jamie Summers, it’s all about black water — coffee. Speaking of which, caffeine has always been the driving substance at the popular Cambridge eatery Summers owns with her husband Brett, from servers zipping around the crowded tables to customers fueling up to meet their days. The chemical formula for caffeine can be found on the wall, and if you look closely, it’s on the floor too.
And that jolt of energy has fueled more than just mornings — it’s powered the bakery’s rise since 2017. Since then, it has doubled in space, survived COVID-19, honed and expanded its menu to become a community favorite, and established a reputation for serving some of the best breakfasts in town.
Jamie fell into running Black Water somewhat accidentally. An initial tenant bowed out after only a few months, leaving Brett with a fully-finished restaurant and no one to run it. Would she? Despite having three school-aged children, she agreed, and has never looked back — spending every day on site, keeping the menu fresh, mentoring the staff, managing crowds, and mitigating the occasional snarky review.
Today, Black Water is the longest-tenured restaurant in town, with honors like the People’s Choice Award at Taste of Cambridge and ‘Best Bakery’ on the Eastern Shore. It’s become a centerpiece of a revitalized downtown and an appealing employment gig for local young people.
Sitting down with The Spy, Jamie reminisces about the early days and talks about how Black Water has gradually earned its place as a Cambridge institution, the place to go for breakfast.
The video is approximately eight minutes long.
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