Mad Eliza's makes move to Holton

Peggy and Mark Murnahan, along with their son, Simon, have opened a new retail space for their custom bakery, Mad Eliza’s, on the north side of the Holton Square.  

The Murnahans have owned and operated the bakery since 2009 from their home and at previous retail locations in Topeka. The new location in Holton is at 126 W. Fifth St., which previously housed the Fifth Street Sandwich Shoppe.

“We didn’t plan on opening another retail bakery,” Peggy said. “But we came here (Holton) and fell in love with all the shops and the community.”

The bakery offers a wide range of homemade baked goods daily, including cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cakes, cheesecake, cookies and other desserts and pastries, along with coffee.

More than 100 specialty sodas are offered at the shop with a wide range of flavors that include 17 different kinds of root beer, butter soda, pickle soda, buffalo wing soda and everything in between.

“We can make ice cream floats out of any of them,” Mark said. 

Specialty cotton candy is also a new addition to the family bakery, and the family will continue to offer custom cakes and specialty desserts for special events and occasions.

“When we decided to establish Mad Eliza’s here, we didn’t want to compete with any of the other businesses,” Mark said. “We wanted to bring something more unique that would complement the businesses here. We’re hoping to accentuate and bring more business to the Square. We thought we could sweeten up the Square a little bit.”

The Murnahans moved to Holton a little over a year ago with their family that includes four children, Jude, 8; Jack, 12; Madeline, 16; and Simon, 18. 

“We wanted out of the city,” Mark said of the couple’s decision to move to Holton. “We wanted to be in a smaller town, and we love it here in Holton.”

The bakery is named after Madeline, whose middle name is Elizabeth.

“She was four when we named the bakery after her,” Mark said. 

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