H&F Bread Co. goes wholesale only
July 28th, 2009 by Besha Rodell in NewsH&F Bread Company, the outstanding bakery from the Restaurant Eugene/Holeman and Finch folks, has closed its doors to the public. According to part-owner Regan Smith, the bakery just wasn’t generating enough foot traffic to justify keeping the retail operation open. The bakery will continue to function as a wholesale operation, and Smith says that in the future they hope to offer call-ahead bread ordering for individual customers.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Sorry to read this. I used to go here regularly for coffee and pastry in the morning, but I admit that I never saw many other customers when I was there. I’ll miss it. They had some amazing pastries.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Do you know if they’ll continue to be at the Peachtree Rd. Farmer’s Market?
July 28th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Thoroughly bummed about this. H&F was my go-to place for bread on Sundays, and I’ll doubly miss being able to pick up a container of Holeman’s excellent pimento cheese there.
July 28th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I died a little inside when I read this. H&F was not just my favorite bakery it was the only bakery I would go to, all others in the city paled in comparison. Today is a sad day.
July 28th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Maybe if the “Chef” were present more often…In any of his establishments for that matter, it would have lasted. He’s a Poser…is Restaurant Eugene next?
July 28th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Mixed emotions here: I thought the offerings were good, but as a retail operation they missed the mark enough times to make me stop coming here – no coffee, not great service, prices a smidge too high. But I disagree with Harrison – Alon’s and Breadgarden have good offerings as well.
July 28th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I was told at the Emory market today, where they have a stall on Tuesdays, that they would continue to sell at farmers’ markets.
July 29th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Edward: that’s good news. Thanks for finding that out. I’m glad that I can at least get my H&F pastry fix at the Saturday Peachtree farmer’s market.
Jim: not only did they have coffee, it was very good coffee. Maybe they were out once when you visited?
July 29th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Why is anyone surprised? That was a terrible and inconvenient location. Parking?
I think this would have thrived in a more easily accessible and visible location.
July 29th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Yes, they did have coffee. They just seemed perpetually out – I should have been more clear.
July 29th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I love going to H@F Bakery and I go there often. I look forward to picking-up the bread for my store just so that I can stop for a sandwich or scone. The bakery is warm and friendly. These complaints make me cringe. No coffee, inconvenient (free nonetheless) parking, absent chef??? Linton and Gina are working all the time and when I go to the bakery, pub or restaurant, I feel their presence in the gracious staff and outstanding food. Complaining about the parking is pathetic. Spend some time in Rome, Italy and tell me about the parking. Or take a side trip to Mogadishu and tell me if the coffee is hot. Try to find a bakery as spotless as H@F in Moscow. H@F is the ONLY real bakery on this side of town and the surrounding neighborhoods will miss this little jewel.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
H&F Bread was amazing. I live down the road, and will miss coming here weekend mornings as well. But let’s be honest here, Advertising was non-existent. The website was never completed. I had to go in there to know that they offered soups and sandwiches for lunch (which were excellent). I truly believe H&F Bread could have worked (esp in the location) with just a little more heart and time spent getting the name /what they offered out there.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I agree with CpH. I know the place worked hard to put out great food, but the owners hearts never seemed to be into it. Restaurant Eugene and Public House thrive because of the love Linton and Greg put into those places. The staff at the bakery did what they could, but the simple matter was, no one knew about the place unless they lived nearby or were regulars at the farmers markets. It’s a huge disappointment that the place was run so poorly.
July 30th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
We’re not in Rome, Mogadishu or Moscow. It’s a great commercial bakery, I am sure, and I bet they take great care of Elisa. They just never had it going as a customer-centric retail bakery. No shame in that, which is why they aren’t doing it anymore.
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Maybe this is a GOOD development, as in maybe they will now distribute to more retail outlets, so we can buy H&F bread fresh every day from any of several stores. Wishful thinking?
And yes, the tricky parking deck keeps me reluctant to visit that strip. How about a drive-through bakery store open every morning!
August 5th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
i’m not surprised, i went several times and the girls/women that worked at the counter acted like they were doing YOU a favor serving you or answering questions about the products. I thought maybe the first time was a fluke, so I tried again and a different counter girl, same unprofessional attitude. terse one word answers about items, for instance: Q:what is that item? A: “cake” I can see that. what kind of cake is it, does it have a flavoring or hazlenuts or something…finally one of the bakers came out and she was much more pleasant and friendly, but it was not enough to make up for the other instances of mistreatment. I bet alot of other people vowed never to come back too.
I the only customer in the store, ready to check out, the same rude girl(long hair, a little cheek acne, wearing a class ring) actually sat there in 2 feet in front of me doing some data entry in the computer/register as i stood in front of her and waited patiently to be rung up and PAY. I finally said, “is it your job to ring people up? or should i wait another 10 minutes until its more convenient for you”
GROSS mismanagement. somebody really passed the buck on front of the house quality control.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Fellow readers:
Thank you for your feedback. As Head Baker, I apologise that we did not meet some your expectations. Conversely, it appears that we did meet certain expectations, judging from the positive feedback both here and from the numerous disappointed guests who have been turned away. Moving forward, we continue to invite our community’s comments.
Closing the retail aspect of the bakery was clearly a tough decision. While one is prone to make excuses, we have chosen to move forward with positivity. After careful business analysis, it became clear that the utilizing the space to maximize production will provide the bright future and growth opportunities that our employees desire and expect. We are fortunate that so many in our community have understood and respected this decision.
We will continue our mission by fostering partnerships with key retail outlets, so that we may refer our regular customers accordingly. In the meantime, we invite everyone to visit us at one of the four Farmer’s Markets where we will still retain our presence: Emory, East Atlanta, Dunwoody, and Peachtree Road.
If we may provide any further information, then please email us at the bakery:
info@hfbreadco.com
Best regards,
Rob Alexander
Head Baker
rob@hfbreadco.com