The bakery will open to the public with an official ribbon cutting with the mayor of Los Altos at 11 a.m. at 271 State St. Complimentary espresso and whole-wheat chocolate-chip cookies will be served until 3 p.m.
Starting Thursday, June 2, Manresa Bread will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Manresa Bread is known for its high-quality, small-batch bread and baked goods, which are available at the first Los Gatos location as well as local farmers markets (including at Palo Alto’s California Avenue market and the Portola Valley Farmers Market).
Kinch first launched Manresa Bread in early 2013 by serving breads and pastries at pop-ups and farmers markets. The brick-and-mortar bakery opened in Los Gatos in February 2015, not far from its Michelin-starred parent restaurant. The Manresa Bread concept was driven by and is now overseen by head baker and partner Avery Ruzicka.
Manresa Bread "sources the best artisanal products available to create their own interpretation of classic bread and pastries using time-honored techniques and baking traditions," a press release states.
Ruzicka also sources whole ancient grains and mills them in-house to produce recipes that are "completely unique" to the bakery.
Manresa snagged the State Street space in late 2015. Andrew Burnham, partner at Manresa Bread, said at the time that they had long been eyeing Los Altos as one piece in a larger expansion puzzle.
“We started Manresa Bread because we love the idea of the traditional neighborhood bakery,” Ruzicka stated in the bakery's press release. “We are excited to open our second location in Los Altos. Its quaint downtown is a natural fit for Manresa Bread and we look forward to becoming part of the community.”
The new Manresa Bread will have a menu similar to the original Los Gatos location, which includes both staples and seasonal items, but have the added bonus of full espresso and coffee service from Santa Cruz-based Verve Coffee Roasters. Rotating offerings will include goods like levain bread, whole-wheat flax bread, Pullman loaves, sourdough baguettes, fruit-and-nut loaves, kouign amann, whole-wheat cookies, pain au chocolate, quiches and more. Pre-packaged product like jams and granola will also be available for purchase.
Manresa Bread will also debut new products at the Los Altos bakery, including Askinosie Chocolate, a small-batch chocolate manufacturer based in Missouri, and Dirty Chai out of Santa Cruz.
To revamp the 800 square-foot space, Manresa enlisted San Francisco-based designer Robert van Horne, who is behind the physical feel of San Francisco restaurants Tosca Cafe, Belcampo Meat Co., Frances and Locanda, among others. The State Street bakery now has floor-to-ceiling windows and aims for a design that is both "classic and modern," the press release notes.
The Los Altos outpost won't be Manresa Breads' only expansion effort. Other Peninsula cities are "on the hit list," Burnham said in December.
