If our local economy has a soul, it might just have a chewy, nutty center.

The owners of Squirrel's Bakery, Indre and Alexander, in their home/office/bakery in Virginia Beach.

Let me explain.

A week or two ago we got an email from a man named Alexander in Virginia Beach inviting us over to try his cookies. (For those of you out there with small businesses seeking some publicity, yes, if you invite us over for cookies we will probably come.) In any case, last night we were supposed to show up around seven. We’d had a long day, so we called to ask if we could come a little early.

“We need to… get ready,” Alexander said.”Let’s keep it at seven.”

When we arrived we found out why: they needed to put on their (seemingly freshly ironed) Squirrel’s Bakery button-downs and to organize their home/office/bakery.

This was the polar opposite of visiting the factory of a major cookie brand, where you’re likely to find tired, disengaged workers filing in and out, heavy metal gates, and the smell of capitalism as thick as the scent of chocolate.

The goods that make the goods.

Alexander and his wife, Indre, just had their first wedding anniversary, and they still have the glow to prove it. They run every aspect of the business along with some help from his mother.

“I brought (Indre) a cookie on our first date,” Alexander explained with a shy shrug.

A clever ploy, as these cookies will have you hooked after one try. Shaped more like brownies, they are thick three-inch bars of whole wheat, unbleached flour, oats, chocolate, nuts and only a few other ingredients. For sharing, they also offer a seven-inch cookie that’s nearly as big as a pie. They’re also at the moment proudly introducing a new line of gluten-free cookies, including a cinnamon chocolate chip and a coconut chocolate chip (the latter of which we can tell you is downright heavenly).

When they met, Alexander was in the Navy then moved on to investment banking. Indre worked at the airport. They started out in Estonia (she’s from Lithuania) baking for friends, family, co-workers, and “one crazy American friend who kept buying them.” When the world economy turned, they decided to move to Virginia Beach and make a go of it with their own small business.

“It’s like anything else when two people are working together,” Alexander explained. “Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don’t. You just have to move on.”

The gluten-free coconut chocolate chip cookies.

They named the company Squirrel’s Bakery because there aren’t that many squirrels in Eastern Europe, and Indre was fascinated by them.

“Some people think we have squirrels in our cookies,” she said. “But we are hunters. We don’t like squirrels.”

“The idea is that the squirrels make them,” Alexander explained.

I’m not a hunter so I’m not sure what Indre meant, but through her Lithuanian accent it was charming. It was all charming. They bake their cookies in their home kitchen while watching CSI: Miami. There’s no room for decorations on the living room walls on account of all the containers of nuts, chocolate chips, and flour. Alexander disappeared for a minute and came back wearing a giant squirrel head.

Seriously.

For now they both still have their day jobs–she does retail work, he’s a proposal writer. Their goal is to be full-time with the cookies in two years. Until then, it’s double duty: day jobs all day, squirrels all night. For now they sell mainly online and seasonally at farmer’s markets, including The Heritage, which is also where they buy their high quality ingredients.

Just a couple nuts.

When we tried the cookies, Hannah said, “Oh my God. These are really, really good.”

Alexander and Indre smiled proudly. And that’s why I started with the line about our local economy’s soul having a nutty, chewy center. It’s because of places like Squirrel’s Bakery. When you bite into a national brand cookie and enjoy it, you know who smiles? Somebody who is happy you shelled out some cash to buy the cookie. And sure, Alexander and Indre want to make money, but they also care if you like their cookies. It makes them happy if you like their cookies, and if you don’t like them, they’ll work harder.

The cookies are delicious and delivery just takes a day if you order from the area, so they have better than a fighting chance of making it, I’d say.

When you buy a cookie from Squirrel’s, you’re helping to build one couple’s dream.

Tastes good, right?

For more information, or to order, check out their website: http://www.squirrelsbakery.com/.