At 6 a.m., customers begin to stream into Hickey’s Wine and Spirits in Milford. This might seem peculiar since the liquor store doesn’t open until 9. The early birds arrive and head toward a counter nestled in the front, not for alcohol but for coffee and croissants, buns, brioche, tarts, bread, and more. Surprisingly, a French patisserie named B. Food Bakery sits inside the store, and is the source of the aroma of butter wafting through the air. Husband and wife team Daniel and Helene Bourget opened this no-frills bakery nearly three years ago. Daniel (whose uncle Charlie Hickey owns the shop) is the baker; Helene runs the retail counter. Daniel trained to be a chef at Johnson and Wales and also studied in Belgium. Later, he worked in Marriott Hotel kitchens in Wales and England. “I always wanted to learn to make bread,” he says. So the couple moved to Remiremont in the Lorraine region of France, where Helene was raised. Daniel worked in a bakery and learned how to turn out bread and Viennoiseries (breakfast pastries). The Worcester native returned to New England with his wife, bringing his skills here, crafting classical French, flaky croissants, some filled with almond cream, laced with chocolate, or just plain ($3 to $4). Small and large tarts encased in short-crust fill the display case — tarte tatin (caramelized apple tart), lemon, pear almond, and more ($4 for small tarts; $22 for large). There are savory choices, too — meat pies, large squares of quiche, pizza slices (from $4). He creates ethereal loaves of brioche feuilletee, eggy brioche dough folded several times with slabs of cold butter, creating croissant’s light, flaky layers ($8). It’s a specialty you don’t find in many bakeries. A rotating selection of earthy, burnished sourdough loaves made with organic flours line a shelf — whole wheat, rye with flaxseeds, spelt, country loaves, some with olives, onion, and herbs ($6.50 to $7.50). The baker turns these all out from the small, modest kitchen. The couple says they are poised to eventually expand their hidden gem. “We have plans,” says Helene. B. Food Bakery is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sundays 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. 396 E. Main St., Milford, 508-713-7774.