Did you know that the name for what is known as the Lazarus Lizards throughout the greater Cincinnati region is actually the Common Wall Lizard?
Miranda Accardi, the owner and operator of Common Wall Bakery, was inspired to use this local phenomenon as the name for her Fort Thomas-based home bakery for two reasons.
One reason is that she just loves lizards; the other is the literal meaning of the words “common wall.”
“In the literal sense, it’s like a shared structure, you know, it’s something that requires neighbors to work together to keep up,” said Accardi. “Reaching other people in your community. That’s really what speaks to me. And why I got into this in the first place.”
Miranda Accardi said she has always been passionate about food and cooking, but over the past 10 years, her baking has really taken off. She has mostly baked for friends, family and coworkers, but recently she was inspired to take the leap into selling her goods.
“It just became one of those things where you hear someone say enough times, ‘You should sell this,’ you start to think, ‘Okay, I’m gonna give it a shot,’” said Miranda.
Common Wall Bakery has been around for about six months, and so far, it has set up shop at two yard sales: the Fort Thomas City Wide Yard Sale and the World’s Longest Yard Sale, which went through Mainstrasse in Covington.
This past weekend, she set up at the Revival Rumble at the Southgate House Revival, then on Sept. 27, she’ll be set up at Cov Craft, a Covington makers market.
Miranda said this has been an excellent opportunity to connect with her community, “it’s been total strangers and our neighbors that I often don’t get to talk to, having those conversations about food… I’ve found it to be really rewarding so far, and I’m enjoying it a lot.”
So, if you stop by, what should you get? Miranda said her oatmeal cream pie is a best seller.
“You get that nostalgia immediately,” said Miranda. “It’s like a soft cookie, good molasses chew, we make a homemade, from scratch, marshmallow fluff, that is the filling, and it’s kind of a flavor bomb. So people come back for that.”
For Miranda, her chocolate chip cookie is where it’s at, “it’s that right combo of crisp, chewy cookie. It’s also kind of huge, so people that big, satisfying treat.”
Miranda’s husband, Joe Accardi, doesn’t mind that she sometimes takes over their kitchen with her baking, especially since he gets to be a taste tester; his favorite is her brioche cinnamon roll.
“It’s been really cool watching Miranda’s vision come together, and helping her test out recipes, of course, probably one of the highlights of this is being able to try her test kitchen creations,” said Joe.
Joe said he is always happy to help Miranda, whether it’s running to the store for something she needs for a recipe or getting dinner ready while she’s baking, he’s on it.
“I’m really proud of her, what she’s accomplished so far, and what she’s definitely going to accomplish in the future,” said Joe.
Looking towards the future, Miranda wants to expand. She is hoping right now to get into a commissary kitchen (a commercially licensed kitchen that allows multiple food businesses to rent or use the space), which would allow her to increase her production and open up her menu.
Currently, as a home bakery, she operates under Cottage Laws, which prohibit her from using certain ingredients, such as traditional buttercream, because butter is not considered shelf-stable. Buttercream is also what is keeping her from doing cakes at the moment, but Miranda said that will come in the next phase, which she is really excited about moving into.
For more information and updates on Common Wall Bakery, follow them on Facebook.