For Sam Markow, the path to his new stand at Chestnut Hill’s Market at the Fareway began when he was a kid, baking alongside his mom, Peg.

“It was nothing fancy,” he recalls. “It was a lot of box mixes, cakes and brownies, whatever. But she had a couple of special items that she would make from scratch. I loved watching. I loved helping. Over the last 10 years, I’ve kind of fallen into the role of making birthday cakes and treats for friends and family. I just always channel those times with my mom.”

When it opens in a few weeks, Markow’s labor of love, Hearth and Soul, will fill the space previously occupied by Barry’s Buns. The grand opening awaits final city inspections.

That path to his first business offering homemade baked goods has been roundabout indeed.

He served a couple of years in the Navy just out of high school. After his discharge, he immediately embarked upon a career in information technology. He’s been in corporate IT for close to 30 years for companies large and small, for-profit and nonprofit. IT is stressful but customer-focused, which he loves. A self-described nerd, he says he had always been interested in computer technology, he indulged in light programming, and played a lot of video games — as witness the tattoos on his left calf featuring video game characters. (On his right calf, there’s a tattoo of jigsaw pieces depicting all the places he’s visited in his travels. On his right arm, an elaborate octopus.)

That said, Markow says, something has been missing. And that something was the desire to strike out on his own and take a chance on a culinary career. He saved up the money, discovered Market at the Fareway, met with the owner, and decided it was a great place.

“I’ve been trying to plan my off-ramp from IT for a couple of years now,” he says. “Baking has always been a passion for me. It’s something I love to dig into and experiment with. I’ve been getting much more serious about moving into a professional baking role. The market is just the perfect place to start. It’s got a good community. It’s got a lot of other people in here who draw in business, and it’s small.”

Barry’s Bun’s was a great destination but Markow says his repertoire of baked offerings will be larger and more varied.

When he began to take up baking seriously, he says, “I started with the basics — chocolate chip cookies and cupcake recipes that I found online. But when you find a recipe online, I found that it frequently didn’t come out right or perfect. And what I really love about baking is the science behind it. So, I started tweaking recipes — like, this wasn’t chocolatey enough or it wasn’t moist enough or it didn’t rise enough. I started tweaking the recipes to be more flavorful or have better crumb or have better texture. I started writing them all down and I’ve amassed a whole bunch of recipes and they’re now to the point where I like them. I think they’re better than what a lot of people make and I think the community will enjoy them.”

Expect a wide variety — almond cookies, Swedish-style cinnamon rolls, cardamom oatmeal cookies, challah, an oat sandwich bread – and of course, cakes and chocolate chip cookies.

As Markow notes with a smile, “Everybody loves chocolate chip cookies.”

Market at the Fareway is at 8221 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill.