Pictured: House-baked treats at Market on Whitney. Photo by Alex Alfaro.

Samantha Spontak knows what a beach day needs. Stop by Market on Whitney, on Longboat Key, and she’ll guide you toward a small-format cheese and “some really great crackers to go with it.” Add a cold bottle of sparkling non-alcoholic white tea, she says, “so you are picnic-ready.”

Spontak opened the shop mere weeks after Artisan Cheese Company closed in Sarasota's Rosemary District, ending her seven years there. “I cried a little bit,” she says, “then talked to my family and just pulled myself together.” A friend in the plaza connected her to the landlord, so “it all happened in 24, 48 hours.” Fellow alum Jessica Hirschauer followed her. “To have her by my side through all of this is really special,” Spontak says.

A classically trained pastry chef, Spontak turns out cookies, brownies, jammy biscuits and tea cakes. On Fridays and Saturdays, she bakes what she calls “big giant cool cinnamon rolls,” a new flavor each week.

Holiday hosts can pre-order pies, such as her gluten-free, “not-so-classic” key lime with passion fruit whip in a coconut macadamia crust. For pumpkin, she spikes the filling with chai spice. Feeding a crowd? Spontak draws on her Artisan years for cheeseboards, from a three-cheese spread to five, with walnuts and dried apricots, plus soppressata or prosciutto.

A browse here might turn up Hudson Valley maple syrup or plant-based fig salami from Greece. Anna’s Stroopwafels sit beside Big Spoon nut butters. Dick Taylor’s “incredible” chocolate-covered cherries make a great hostess gift, Spontak says, as do the cookbooks. “Whatever you think somebody might like, I think that we’ve got it.”

Closer to home, she was down to her last jar of Pa’s Peanuts, while Sunshine Canning supplies pickles, and Homestead Hydroponic Farm sends greens, along with fall bouquets. “A lot of people don’t leave the island,” Spontak says. “So if they don’t have to cross the bridge to get those things that they love, I’m glad to have them on my shelves.”

Market on Whitney, Tues-Fri 10 am-6 pm, Sat 8 am-4 pm, 6842 Gulf of Mexico Dr, Longboat Key, 941-444-7227, @marketonwhitney. Thanksgiving pickup: Nov. 25. Cheeseboards with 48 hrs’ notice.

Pictured: House-baked treats at Market on Whitney. Photo by Alex Alfaro.