Furst Look

May 5, 2014

On Friday, we hung our photographs and the marble countertops and tables were installed.  Bruce Flippens of the D.C. Health Department returned to see whether we had done what he asked us to do and he then he approved our opening.

And so we will open on Tuesday morning.

This bakery is beautiful.  It’s like a dream bakery.

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The road just taken hasn’t been without its potholes – fewer than many of our streets, however – and I hope you will agree when you see us that it was worth the troubles and delays.

It has been an expensive construction and we spent much of the money on improvements to the building.  Most of the rest we spent on equipment and you will see how extensive the equipment is.

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Very little really was spent on décor.  Nevertheless the bakery looks really good and it looks exactly as I wanted it to.

When we began last summer, I decided to work with Peter Hapstak and his team.  Hapstak is very experienced and we had worked together once before to create The BreadLine downtown.

I believe that Peter really wanted to design this bakery; he understood that it would be unique in Washington.  More important, he understood what I imagined for it.  That is to say:

First, I wanted it not to look like The BreadLine.

The industrial look is very popular.  Some people call it “industrial chic,” others “industrial grunge.”

You know what it looks like – exposed pipes and brick walls, very stylish in Brooklyn and here too.  One reason it’s so stylish is that it’s cheaper to construct than a finished interior.

But I didn’t want that.  I wanted to build an attractive place and I wanted it not to be noticed.  I wanted something clean and simple, a décor that would practically disappear so that as you enter, you’ll see only the bread and pastries and foods.

Most of all I wanted this to be a bakery, not a restaurant, but a retail bakery and food store.  I wanted bread-making to be the first thing customers see and finished pastry the second.

I think we did it.  A wooden floor and white walls, every part of the bakery exposed to customer view, reclaimed timber shelving and a marble countertop.   Subway tile and schoolhouse lights.   Shivani’s corner where children can sit and color.

 

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You’ll see it and I hope it will make you feel comfortable.  I hope it will seem familiar to you.  And of course I hope it will become familiar to you.

 

 

  1. Elizabeth Lichner says:

    Congratulations!

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  2. shelleyfid says:

    Yay!

  3. Phyllis Gestrin says:

    I’m excited. So what are the hours going to be? Phyllis Gestrin

  4. Marion Nestle says:

    It looks wonderful! Hope the opening is huge. I will come look at it on June 3.

    *From:* Bread Furst [mailto:comment-reply@wordpress.com] *Sent:* Sunday, May 04, 2014 9:12 PM *To:* marion.nestle@nyu.edu *Subject:* [New post] Furst Look

    Mark Furstenberg posted: “On Friday, we hung our photographs and the marble countertops and tables were installed. Bruce Flippens of the D.C. Health Department returned to see whether we had done what he asked us to do and he then he approved our opening. And so we will open o”

  5. Mary Ann says:

    Mark, Congratulations! It looks wonderful! I wish that we could be there tomorrow for the opening. I shall look forward to the next trip to DC to experience the bakery.

    Mary Ann

  6. Mike Nash says:

    I’ll be there in the morning!

  7. Merry Richon says:

    Stopped by on opening day to pick up English muffins – awesome! Can’t wait to sample our way through the entire menu.

  8. I’m hoping to stop in after work today. I’m very excited to try your bread.

  9. Melanie says:

    It’s beautiful! I can’t wait to come and visit!

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