Tired of grocery store checkout lines? Hate the long drive to find a mom-and-pop bakery?

Well, fear not: there’s a new form of shopping in Colorado Springs neighborhoods, and it’s a lot closer than one might think.

No cashier. No long drive — not even a building. 

Instead, locals are stopping by their neighbors’ homes and finding the recipes once shared around the family table baked into goods left on the front porch. 

As these home bakers transform their front yards into farm stands, there’s one ingredient they’re relying on: trust.

Alongside flour, butter and yeast, Colorado Springs’ newest wave of neighborhood bakery stands relies on honesty to receive payment.

Customers grab what they want, scan a QR code or leave cash and head home with fresh treats, as the homeowner hopes they leave with a loaf of bread instead of the cash box itself. 

As videos of these farm stands rack up thousands of views on social media, the self-serve concept is quickly becoming one of Colorado Springs’ sweetest yet riskiest trends.

At Dainty Dough Farm Stand, that gamble has paid off.

Inspired by the sourdough boom that swept across TikTok, best friends Ashley Elliott, 30, and Carlee Duran, 29, decided to see if their neighbors were hungry enough to support a bakery without walls.

“We made everything DIY style, and it’s absolutely taken off,” Elliott said. “We’ve had repeated customers every single weekend, and people just love and are so excited to have something like this in their community.” 

What started as a hobby for the stay-at-home mom and Mountain Vista Community School nurse quickly turned into a weekend ritual, open for business Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1397 Celtic St. 

“I think people are definitely drawn to the farm stand because farmers markets and grocery stores have raised their prices,” Duran said. “I think they appreciate somewhere to go in their community where they don’t have to go far to get fresh food, and since all our batches are small compared to bakeries, you can actually taste how fresh everything is and how no preservatives and minimal ingredients are used.” 

Fresh sourdough loaves, apple butter, strawberry shortcake cookies, cake pops and chocolate-dipped Rice Krispie treats fill their self-serve stand each weekend, with most items priced between $9 and $15. 

“Our slogan is ‘Anything but dainty’ because we don’t actually serve dainty little treats,” Elliott said. “People come by and they’re like ‘This is crazy. Your loaves are stuffed. It’s so heavy.’ At farmers markets, people are selling these loaves for like $25 with barely any inclusions in them and we’re selling them for $14.” 

Customers can pay using Venmo, Cash App, Apple Pay or cash, while security cameras overlook the stand. 

Since opening in May, Elliott and Duran said they welcome between 30 and 40 customers on an average day and have had only one instance where items appeared missing without payment.

Across town at 6741 Nokomis Circle, Three Little Petals has found similar success. Owner Amanda Ramirez-Proctor, 27, balances her booming farm stand while raising three children under the age of 3.

With traditional sourdough loaves, jalapeño cheddar bread, chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls quickly becoming her customers’ favorites, nothing on her menu costs more than $13. 

“Last weekend, I got up at 4 a.m. and the oven didn’t turn off until 5 p.m.,” Ramirez-Proctor said. “I think people love it because they just want something home-cooked and prefer that over processed food from the grocery store.”

The stand’s opening weekend on July 10 sold out, with help from two TikTok videos that drew more than 36,000 views combined.

“It’s something I had been thinking about for a few years, but I just never had the confidence to do it by myself,” Ramirez-Proctor said. “I jumped right in, and TikTok definitely helped a lot because it just took off overnight. I have a notebook next to my stand for people to tell me their experience, and people keep saying they found me on TikTok.”

Apparently, Colorado Springs has developed quite the appetite for front-porch pastries. The proof, it seems, is in the pudding — or maybe the sourdough.

As more baking hobbyists turn their porches into tiny bakeries, here’s some of the stands participating in the viral trend across Colorado Springs.

• Dainty Dough Farm Stand, 1397 Celtic St., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. 

• Three Little Petals, 6741 Nokomis Circle, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• Oliver’s Baked Goods, 4011 Foster Circle, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• COS Farm Stand, 7022 Grand Prairie Drive, varying dates and hours.

• Crumb and Kiln, 2140 Cooper Ave., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Tuesday.

• Ivy’s Delights, 6850 Defoe Ave., varying dates and hours. 

• Little Heart’s Bakery, 6770 Brook Forest Drive, varying dates and hours.

• Silly Goose Colorado, 7242 Arrowroot Ave., 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• XO Dipped Creations Co., 10550 Eulcase Heights, varying dates and hours.