They already own a popular Modesto restaurant. Now they’ve got a new bakery next door
In life and business, they say location is everything.
When Ashley and Hank Olson decided to make their longtime dream of owning a bakery a reality, the Modesto couple couldn’t have asked for a better spot. First, it’s right next door to their existing downtown restaurant Food Fix. And second, it’s two doors down from the city’s new Modesto Children’s Museum.
Yes, a sweets bakery next to a children’s museum. As I was saying — location, location, location.
The Olsons opened their new Bakeshop on 11th Street in early October. The bakery’s debut coincides with the four-year anniversary of Food Fix, the Guy Fieri-approved food truck turned brick-and-mortar restaurant.
The opening also culminates more than a year and a half of hard work and sweat equity to transform the longtime former home of Barkin’ Dog Grill, which closed after 17 years at the end of 2021, into a light and airy bakery. The Olsons did most of the work themselves, relying on some handy friends and family to help as well.
“I think we didn’t take into account how much time it would take to do this on our own,” said Ashley Olson. “It was a way bigger project than we thought it would be, especially while also running (Food Fix). “
The bakery now takes advantage of the building’s 20-foot ceilings, with a restored vintage skylight that the Olsons exposed, uncovering its previously blacked out windows. They kept the space’s original brick wall and covered the opposite wall with a clean hexagon-spaced white tile keeping with its Bee theme and logo.
One of the back walls is filled with a colorful mural painted by Ashley Olson (also the artist behind Food Fix’s food truck mural) with an assist by some children from the community. The piece honors a family member and close friend who both passed away in the last year.
But the business’s main focus is its bakes and — thanks to the shop’s open kitchen — the bakers themselves. The bakery takes advantage of the Barkin’ Dog’s layout, with visible prep areas and ovens located directly behind the display cases filled with sweet and savory delights.
From scratch menu includes cookies, cakes, croissants, more
Ashley serves as head baker, leading her staff of about five (and they’re still hiring, if you’re an experienced or aspiring baker, inquire). Work begins around 3:30 a.m. each morning to make all of the bread and cookies offered on the next-door Food Fix menu as well as about 30 different items for sale in the shop.
That includes selling whole loaves and bags of the breads used in Food Fix and across the street at neighbor Tresetti’s (from pretzel buns to different focaccias), a variety of cookies, cakes, sweet loaves, scones, muffins, eclairs, cinnamon rolls and more. Savory fans should scoop up one of the “porkstrami” scones, using pieces of the Food Fix-made cured meat and cheese. The from-scratch made cookies, pastries and other offerings run from about $4 to $8 each.
Among the most distinctive menu items are the fresh-made croissants in a variety of flavors, from plain to ham-and-cheese to the classic pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant). Bakeshop is one of the few, if not the only, bakery in town that regularly makes its own in-house croissant. The labor-intensive process means batches are small, so if you want to snag one be sure to arrive early as they’ve sold out nearly every day.
Besides keeping early hours, the bakers go through a whole lot of butter — about 150 pounds per week, to be exact. Ashley plans to keep the menu rotating, with regular items like cookies and croissants, and seasonal additions like its pumpkin sweet loaf and other options.
The Olsons are working on sourcing an espresso machine, and already serve hot drip and cold brew using a signature bean blend made for the bakery by Modesto-based Volente Coffee Roasters, which is run through the Modesto Gospel Mission. Down the road the Olsons also plan to offer grab-and-go Food Fix sandwiches and other items.
Hank Olson said having their own bakery kitchen means there’s more space in the Food Fix kitchen, too. He’s taken advantage of the elbow room by launching a new children’s menu (they are, after all, right next door to the kiddie museum) and adding a smoker.
The bakery is also making the most of its proximity to a stream of excited, and likely hungry, children coming and going from the children’s museum. Bakeshop offers a free specially designed MoChiMu (the museum’s abbreviated nickname) sprinkle cookie when you show your paid ticket to the museum.
On a recent visit, a handful of kids excited for their free cookie came in and left with wide smiles.
As I was saying, location, sweet location.
Bakeshop, at 940 11th St. in Modesto, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. For more information visit www.facebook.com/bakeshopmodesto.
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
