Manresa Bread founder Avery Ruzicka admits “it’s a relief” to finally be opening what is being billed as their new flagship location in downtown Los Gatos.
The bakery at 40 N. Santa Cruz Ave. has been in the works for well over a year. Some supply chain issues presented challenges, but they were on track to open the 1,400-square-foot location on Thursday, Oct. 27.
“Things have a habit of working out the way they’re supposed to,” says Ruzicka, who has parlayed her trademark levain baking skills from the kitchen of Manresa restaurant into quite the baked goods empire. “We’re rotating in staff from other locations so all will go smoothly.
“I have a really strong team,” she adds. “They all love working with people. After all, that’s what a neighborhood coffee shop is all about: that warm connection with people.”
The new Los Gatos location will feature indoor and outdoor seating, with an all-day menu, complete with beer and wine, plus grab-and-go offerings. It will be similar in feel to the Campbell location, which debuted in 2018. Ruzicka opened a Manresa Bread cafe in Palo Alto in April of this year. Manresa Bread’s original Los Gatos location on University Avenue is closing.
“The Los Gatos bakery was our first ever brick-and-mortar space, and really an experiment as to whether there was a market for our breads,” says Ruzicka. “We’ve learned so much over the past seven years about not only baking in a high-quality, thoughtful way, but also how to create a welcoming neighborhood space. This move is a testament to our team’s hard work and the unwavering support of the Los Gatos community.”
In addition to Ruzicka’s beloved house-milled sourdough breads, the Los Gatos cafe will serve laminated pastries, quiches, salads and sandwiches. Beverages will include Verve coffee, plus a variety of teas and Stonemill Matcha. Ruzicka sources much of the produce, dairy and meats used in the café from local farms and purveyors, including Clover, Strauss, Live Earth Farms and Spade and Plough.
“We think our Los Gatos customers will be so excited to take their families out on a Sunday for a sausage biscuit, maybe a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich or an avocado toast, accompanied by a mimosa,” says Ruzicka. All the sausage is made in house, and avocados are sourced from Brokaw Farms.
Los Gatos customers snap up around 300 loaves of levain weekly, and are the largest consumers of kouign amann among all the current bakery locations.
The cafe will also carry official Manresa Bread merch, as well as bake-at-home mixes made with fresh flour milled in house, including mocha rye brownie, whole wheat chocolate chip cookie, and Einkorn waffle.
The new Los Gatos cafe was designed by Oakland-based Arcsine Architecture and Design, and underlines the beauty and simplicity of the ancient art of baking. The full-height slat wall is meant to evoke the iconic unpainted homes of Sea Ranch. Three ulterior skylights flood the space with natural light, and hints of orange and blue echo Manresa Bread’s original logo palette. A custom window graphic aligned with the shelving in back features patterns inspired by bread scoring.
The Los Gatos café will be open daily, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Seating inside will be available at three high-tops, each with seating for three, and outside are four four-tops.
Pre-orders over $40 can be place up to four days in advance at https://www.exploretock.com/manresabreadlosgatos, and delivery orders can be made through DoorDash and UberEats.
Source: www.mercurynews.com