Santa Fe’s Standout Bakery and Cafe
On a recent stay in Santa Fe, my brother texted something about a friend’s daughter’s bakery. We only had two days, so I ignored the message—until we were looking for a quick breakfast stop. From now on, I’m listening to my big brother. Bread Shop turned out to be a highlight, yes, for baked goods—its sour dough boules must be the best in Santa Fe, they’re that good. And also as a model of utilitarian chic.
Self-taught baker Jacob Brenner opened in January 2020 six weeks before the pandemic hit, with his brother, Zac, an artist, as his lone helper. The response was so wildly enthusiastic that Jacob’s wife, Mayme Berman, lent a hand during the daily rush—and soon became Bread Shop’s chief business and aesthetics officer. At the time, they were located in a tiny storefront across from their current location in a lively creative enclave known as Lena Street, aka the local’s alternative to Canyon Road. (Jacob’s parents happened to be the first to develop Lena Street in 1999—”it was a really rundown bus yard on a dead end,” says Mayme—and are their landlords.)
Bread Shop has since become a community hub assembled with help from friends and family: at the get-go Daniel Strongwater came up with the playful bread-shaped logo; Jacob’s mother, Rachel Watson, a ceramic artist who works a fews doors down, makes Bread Shop’s dishware; and regular Joey Blaha came up with the memorable curtains. If you’re in town, I’d make a beeline for Bread Shop and its neighboring shops and cafés. In the meantime, take away some shoestring remodeling inspiration.
Photography by Krysta Jabczenski unless noted, all courtesy of Bread Shop (@bread.shop.sf).
1. Learn from what was.
