Photo via Facebook / Stephen's Breads
Stephen’s Breads, owned by husband-and-wife team Stephen Blanchard and Christine Burke, has expanded its operations from selling artisan breads and other items out of their St. Francis home and at local farmers markets and into a South Milwaukee storefront.
Fans of the specialty bread loaves, among them flavors such as caramelized onion with cheddar, rosemary garlic, and cherry pecan, can now pick them up, along with cookies and other baked goods, at Wild Flour Bakery, 1205 Milwaukee Ave., South Milwaukee.
Blanchard says that he and Burke will gradually assume ownership of Wild Flour. Although Wild Flour owners Dolly and Greg Mertens, who are both in their 70s, are easing away from their business, Blanchard assures loyal customers that the longtime bakery favorites, including muffins and other goodies, aren’t going anywhere.
“We plan to grow Stephen’s Breads by keeping Wild Flour around,” he explaines. They plan to add a patio to the bakery and paint a mural on the building. Wild Flour also plans to serve Valentine’s Coffee.
Eat Local
Blanchard has been making and selling his own breads for several years. After the Mitchell Park Domes’ farmers market season was cancelled in March 2020, Blanchard and Burke found themselves with dozens of leftover loaves of bread. The couple decided to sell the breads on Facebook. Not only did the couple sell out of bread, they wound up with a large backlog of orders.
Blanchard says that he met Mertens about a year and a half ago. They discussed a partnership, but the Stephen’s Breads owners thought it best to wait. After milling their own flour and baking and selling hundreds of loaves of bread out of their home for more than a year, Blanchard and Burke decided now was the time to make the move to a more spacious environment.
Stephen’s Breads fully embraces the “eat local” movement, using grains and other products from Wisconsin farms and food vendors. The couple still plans to sell its items at local farmers markets and will continue to offer curbside pickup from its new brick-and-mortar location. Stephen’s also offers weekly and bi-weekly Bakery in a Box subscriptions.
In the future, Blanchard said he’d like to partner with small local grocery stores to carry his bakery items.
Visit the Stephen's Breads website for more information.
