Students Sydney Stewart and Nicolas Montoya get up at three in the morning every Friday to start baking in their home kitchen. After seven hours, their green shed at 619 W. 35th St. is visible from the street. It is filled with chocolate chunk cookies that melt in your mouth, sourdough breads, and bagels.
Stoya Bread Co., a new Austin specialty, started out as a private custom between senior Stewart in sustainability and senior Montoya in mechanical engineering. The two student bakers formed dough every Friday and developed a bond in the process. Leaning on their mutual love, the pair constructed a self-serve bread hut in February and used an honor system to collect payments. What began as a little local business now attracts devoted clients each week.
“Being in the kitchen, baking, and cooking has been a huge pillar of our relationship since we started dating last August,” Stewart added. The bread shed enables us to sell bread in a hands-off manner that suits our timetable, which is what we needed.
After a few months, Stewart and Montoya were left without a place to call home for the shed due to an abrupt change in housing. Austin reacted enthusiastically to the praise he received on Instagram.
We don’t usually ask for assistance, but because of our newfound community, it’s the best choice we’ve ever made, Stewart said. We had a ton of locations for the shed in a matter of hours, and a lot of people left comments on our videos, stating things like, “This is so Austin.” Keep Austin strange!
Mark Phillip and Rachel Hoffman, who wanted to maintain the shed in their neighborhood, gave their front yard for the new placement across the street. They frequently peek out the window while working from home to see how the pair is doing and the shed’s progress.
The neighborhood benefits from it. Phillip claimed that it was remarkable and one-of-a-kind. This is unlike anything I’ve seen in the past than 20 years I’ve owned this house.
It looked like something that should be continued to see them gaining momentum week after week, and it’s enjoyable to watch it develop, Hoffman said.
Due to increased demand, Stewart and Montoya now make at least 18 loaves, 32 bagels, 20 English muffins, and 90 cookies every Friday to replenish their inventory, but they are still unable to satisfy their patrons’ cravings. Production is hampered by a small oven, and baked items sell out in a matter of hours. Theft, however, is never an issue.
According to Montoya, we naturally think that people are good. We won’t be angry if someone needs the bread so badly that they take it, especially if there are homeless people.
The pair stated that although they intend to retain the shed where it is, they hope to create a storefront cafe based on the same values of community, love, and trust. That concern is evident after just one bite of their bread.
According to Montoya, you must go headfirst and believe that you can swim since you will encounter difficulties. For us, the most important thing has been to persevere and never give up.
