Sing a song of sixpence, 

a pocket full of rye. 

Four and twenty blackbirds, 

baked in a pie. 

When the pie was opened, 

the birds began to sing; 

wasn’t that a dainty dish 

to set before the king?

Pastry chef Mandy Puntney always knew she’d like to run a bakery named “4 & 20” after the pie-oriented nursery rhyme. When her business associate Scott Spilger also came up with the same name – serendipitously and independently – they knew it was meant to be. Spilger, who co-owns the newly-opened bakery and caf? on Madison’s east side with Puntney’s fianc?, Evan Dannells, knew at once this name would capture the essence of whimsy and fun the trio hopes to achieve with 4 & 20.

Spilger and Dannells met while working at the upscale restaurant L’Etoile on Capitol Square. The three restaurateurs also operated a catering company on the west side, working full-time up until the soft opening of 4 & 20’s doors in late December. They said the process was an altogether new and rapid one, but in most cases the start-up strains have been abated by the satisfaction of being their own bosses – in the comfort of their first-ever, self-designed kitchen space.

“This is something I’ve just been waiting to do,” Dannells said. “Long hours and lots of hard work hurts a lot less because you’re doing it for yourself.”

From the baker’s perspective, Mandy is grateful for the freedom to bake whatever inspires her on any given day, in addition to the daily standards of pies, scones and her take on the classic morning bun that she selected for the menu. And she is elated to finally have a window in her kitchen.

“Bakeries are really notorious for shoving the baker in the back somewhere,” Dannells said. “I used to joke with Mandy and say, ‘Go to your dungeon!'”

Far from dungeon-like, the bakery’s space has a fresh interior, with real flowers in jars for each table. It will soon have walls adorned with artwork to “soften the echoes,” Spilger said. There are currently two other part-time employees working in the shop, but one of the owners will always be on-site to perpetuate their goal of maintaining a deep, visible involvement in 4 & 20.

“A true bakery is unique to this area of the east side,” Dannells said. “It’s small; we have our hands on this place and our best interest is in keeping everybody happy.”

Since all three pastry professionals live in the area, they had an advantage in forecasting what treats might be popular with patrons.

“I think we got awfully, awfully close because we’ve had a very warm reception,” Dannells said. “I’m getting to feed people that I already know from around my neighborhood.”

Filling a void in the community has been at the forefront of his business process.

“It’s great to hear [community members] say they’ve always hoped something like this would open,” he said. “It’s easy to develop a disconnect between the people who make the food and their target audience, but being in a place that’s really open, where we can get feedback, has been fantastic.”

Along with locally sourcing ingredients whenever possible for its treats, soups and sandwiches, 4 & 20 hopes to begin developing a handful of gluten-free baked goods.

“Gluten-free products are really hit or miss because wheat is really the easiest medium to bake with,” Dannells said. “We’re testing things, and once we have a few things we can stand by in terms of quality we’ll have some.”

This goes along with the philosophy of 4 & 20 in general: A vaster menu does not signify a superior bakery.

“We prefer to do a few things very, very well than to try to offer all varieties of baked goods,” Dannells stressed. “Quality will always suffer when you try to get too ambitious about quantity. Madison is one of a few towns where people really appreciate that, I think.”

One such item that has been tried and tested to perfection is Puntney’s pie, which Spilger said is as delicious as it is fun. Although no blackbirds will find their way into hers, Puntney’s variety of pies harken back to the nursery rhyme imagery of 4 & 20’s name – and is a staple for which the bakery hopes to be known.

“We’ve captured something different. … In a way, they are a caricature of what we normally think of as pie,” Spilger said. “Our apple pie starts with four pounds of apples, which is way more than you get in any other pie. It also has this huge dome on it.”

At the time of the interview, 4 & 20 had one lonely review on Yelp.com – the foodie’s standard measurement for eyeing up a new restaurant – but the bakery and caf? has been quickly gaining recommendations and “likes” on its Facebook business page.

“In a way it’s less about being the best,” Spilger said, “but doing good work for its own sake.”