ManresaBread Los Gatos Gives Rise to South Bay Expansion in Retail and Markets
ManresaBread continues to offer its hand-crafted, small-batch breads and pastries out of its first retail space located at 276 N. Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, California. Inspired by the bread program at the two Michelin-star Manresa restaurant in Los Gatos, ManresaBread rises under Manresa's head baker Avery Ruzicka. Manresa Bread now operates five retail locations in Los Gatos, Los Altos, Campbell, Santa Cruz and Palo Alto.
ManresaBread also continues to sell daily bakery items at local farmers’ markets and Verve Coffee Roasters in an exclusive partnership providing breads and pastries for the coffee house’s three locations. Co-founded by Ruzicka, Partner and Manresa Chef/Owner David Kinch and Partner Andrew Burnham, the company continues its expansion with online sales.
“Avery took the bread program at Manresa to the next level and being able to share that outside of the restaurant happened naturally for us,” says Partner David Kinch. “We grew from one to two farmers’ markets to the Santa Cruz popup and a brick and mortar locations were the next step.”
Similar to the culinary philosophy behind Manresa restaurant, ManresaBread focuses on time-honored, hands-on techniques and high-quality ingredients, including milling their own flour daily.
The original 800 square foot ManresaBread retail shop opened in 2015 in Los Gatos, as well as the other retail locations stock a rotating selection of bread and sweet and savory pastries including Manresa Levain, Sour Baguette, Pumpernickel Rye, Fruit and Nut Loaf, Polenta Whole Wheat, MonkeyBread, Almond Croissants, Chocolate Brioche, Kale and Parmesan Scones, and seasonal breads and muffins. The seasonal and ever-changing menu highlights classic bread and pastry and also allows the team to introduce new products and creations that are distinctively their own.
Partner/Head Baker Avery Ruzicka brings a degree in culinary and the art of international bread baking from the French Culinary Institute as well as experience working with Master Baker Ben Hershberger of Per Se Restaurant and Bouchon Bakery to the ManresaBread team. Before the launch of ManresaBread, Ruzicka worked several kitchen positions at Manresa before taking over the entire bread program. “I love the whole process of working with bread – cultivating the starter, tweaking a recipe, working with the dough, and using all of my senses to gauge if it’s time to bake,” says Ruzicka. “I took over the bread program at the restaurant and when the opportunity to start selling outside of Manresa came up, I jumped at the chance.”
The Los Gatos location was designed with San Francisco-based Robert van Horne, whose work includes Tosca Café, Belcampo Meat Co., and Delfina. ManresaBread welcomes guests to a bakery that is both classic and modern, taking influence from traditional bakeries and patisseries from around the globe blended with contrasting colors, industrial accents, and natural building materials including wood, marble, and copper. In addition to the building materials, outdoor elements are important to the design and guests can expect to see a lot of local plant life throughout the space including olive, ficus, and citrus trees.
The commissary kitchen, just down the road from the retail space, features over 3,000 square feet of space for production. A 19,000-pound TMB Tag Gas Deck Oven from Italy allows ManresaBread to bake up more than 100 loaves of bread at a time, key to expanding the bread and pastry operations.
Visit the original retail location where it all got started, literally. ManresaBread located at 276 N. Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, is open every day (with special hours on holidays) from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. For more information on ManresaBread, visit www.manresabread.com.
