Prepare to go off your diet if you go into Nancy P’s Baking Company. There are more temptations here than in Motown.

There’s the pies of marion-berry and blueberry and apple. There’s the wonder bar, a medley of almonds, chocolate and coconut on shortbread crust. And the gigantic chocolate chip cookie needs no explaining.

But there’s a lot more than dessert.

”We get bored easy,” says Nancy Pfeiffer, who with her husband, Steve Morse, owns Nancy P’s Baking Company on Bend’s west side.

That’s the good news. It brings out the spark and creativity in their baking. The other good news is that the folks at Nancy P’s make everything from loaves of sourdough to sandwiches.

The menu includes grilled sandwiches like ham and cheese or a Reuben. One of the favorites is a combo of bacon, tomato and fontina on challah.

”We offer a lot of food items,” Pfeiffer says. ”We’re more of a bakery. But everything we serve to the public, we’ve made.”

The latest addition is the mini eclairs, ice-blended drinks including mocha and vanilla, and the fresh ground French press coffee.

The husband and wife ran a bakery of the same name in West Yellowstone, Mont. They moved to Bend in 1997 and, after selling the Montana business, opened Nancy P’s here.

Relying on word of mouth more than advertising, the business has managed to build a loyal clientele, Pfeiffer says.

So, why not Steve M’s for a name?

”That would work if it were a lawn mower shop, not a bakery,” says Morse with a laugh.

Pfeiffer says she enjoys the emotional appeal of making and selling baked goods.

”I think eating is really emotional,” she says. ”The bakery business, it’s emotional.”

”I like that part of it, because it makes the business ever-changing,” says Pfeiffer. ”And everyone always has a buck for a cookie or a coffee.”

Nancy P’s Baking Company

Location: 1054 N.W. Milwaukee Ave., Bend

Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily

Price Range: Pastries $1.25 to $3.95, sandwiches $5 to $6.45, bread loaves $2.50 to $4.25

Alcoholic Beverages: No

Kids’ Menu: No

Reservations: No

Credit Cards: No

Contact: 322-8778