Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
After eight years of Kuluntu Bakery, the nonprofit has finally opened their doors to their first brick-and-mortar.
Located at East Dock, the former cottage bakery is now serving a rotating seasonal menu of 10 pastries, three desserts and four breads four days a week. Recent menu items have included the pain au chocolat, almond and passion fruit croissant and cinnamon roll.
Kuluntu has also started working with Elevate Coffee Trading, which will open a roastery in East Dock, adding standard coffee drinks to the menu to pair with your favorite baked goods.
“What they do is provide clean water and nutrition and education to underserved coffee roasting countries … and so it’s really cool that we can be partnering with a roastery that also has a social mission,” said Stephanie Leichtle-Chalken, founder and executive director of Kuluntu Bakery.
This partnership supports Kuluntu Bakery’s own mission to build a more equitable food system by centering women, culture and community through food.
The nonprofit highlights these impacts through two programs: the Women’s Care Collective and Community of Changemakers. The collective aims to host monthly gatherings for women food workers and the changemakers program, which educates the community on the food system.
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- Emily Richmond, lead baker, preparing croissants to be baked. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
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- The window view into the bakery. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
Elements of this mission can be found throughout the new shop’s design, from the children’s section in the center to the windows overlooking the back baking space.
Leichtle-Chalklen added that the transparency of the windows is supposed to help workers feel more comfortable, but also draws onlookers to see the behind-the-scenes of their baked goods.
“Since being open for the soft opening about a month, what we’ve been hearing from people is just how excited they are for this space, and the intention that went into it. It seems like something that people are really yearning for,” she said. “So it’s really cool when you can create something that you feel like you’re yearning for, and you really want to see, and then people are also feeling the same way.”
Kuluntu Bakery will host a grand opening celebration Saturday, June 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. that will feature a children’s story time, a local DJ, a bread-breaking ceremony at 10 a.m. and a cafe chat to build community through food starting at noon.
Kuluntu Bakery is located at 900 E. Clarendon Drive, Suite #165. Hours are Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
