When my wife (Tara) and I moved from Oakland to El Sobrante in 2016, we immediately noticed the lack of amenities we had grown accustomed to: the coffee shops, the bakeries, the delis, the bagel shops, etc.. We started to dream about opening our own deli/bakery/café in El Sobrante, because we figured if we were missing having these local amenities, others in our community probably were too.

Throughout the years, this idea of opening up our own café was sort of a pipe dream, one we would continuously return to when we were craving a turkey sandwich on fresh baked sourdough bread in the middle of a Tuesday or a bagel still warm from the oven on a lazy Sunday morning. We would imagine quitting our jobs in the construction industry and starting anew. But at the end of the day, with zero experience in the culinary industry, this idea truly seemed to be just a pipe dream.

Today, I still have my full time job as a construction manager, and two part time jobs, our three year old (Laith) and our two year old (Leo). So why am I trying to fit hours and hours of bread baking into my already busy schedule? Simple, because I am passionate about it, it gives me joy and I love it. I stay up late reading cookbooks by my favorite bakers and wake up early excited to continue my journey in this beautiful, stressful, fickle and fulfilling craft. Maybe one day this passion project will turn into something bigger, but for now I am happy to bake a few loaves of bread every week for my friends and neighbors.