For Proof Bread owners Amanda Abou-Eid and Jon Przybyl, things feel a little different the second time around.
Last week, the couple opened their second sourdough bakery location, in north Phoenix near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard. It was an opening they did on their own terms – a turnabout from their mandated move from their Mesa garage kitchen in 2020 that resulted in their first brick-and-mortar opening in 2021 in downtown Mesa.
“If that one felt like panic, this one feels like healing,” Abou-Eid says.
But while the new bakery opened on the owners' chosen timeline, it doesn't mean they're slowing down just yet. It marks the start of the realization of a growth plan that will include a third bakery in downtown Phoenix, an “after dark” pizza feature in Mesa before the end of the year, an expansion of their local market called Main Street Harvest and the creation of a test kitchen to pilot new bread.
Proof's second bakery location will feature a creative kitchen to test new bread and a stone mill to grind local heritage grains.
Sara Crocker
Inside Proof’s ‘Sheaborhood’ bakery
Przybyl initially sought out a second space largely for flour storage – the bakery goes through pallets of the stuff to serve thousands of customers each week. And, with a loyal following at nearby farmers markets and intel from Proof's pandemic-era home delivery service, Przybyl knew there were interested customers in the "Sheaborhood," as residents call it.On Proof’s opening day, the space was abuzz with regulars from the markets and the parking lot pop-ups Proof hosted while the bakery was under construction. Inside, people queued up to a walnut-stained counter with a long glass case displaying breads and pastries that would dwindle and be restocked throughout the morning.
Behind the counter, loaves of bread came out the oven and were slid onto two large, antique baking racks to cool. That oven is the same one that Abou-Eid and Przybyl last used when they ran Proof out of their garage – and to cook some Thanksgiving turkeys and pizzas for their family in between.
“It’s nice to have the core of our bakery back,” Przybyl says. “A lot of the equipment we’re using here today is what made Proof into Proof.”
The Shea bakery operates as a satellite, with the long-fermenting sourdoughs still being mixed, shaped and proofed at the Mesa location. Loaves and pastries ready to be baked are ferried north in a refrigerated truck.
Right now, “we aren’t a finished product,” Przybyl says.
There are plans to add a patio. And, about half the space is bare but accounted for. This fall it will become home to Main Street Harvest, Proof’s market that sells fresh produce and pantry items.
“We feature 90% local produce,” Abou-Eid says, noting they aim to open the market in September. “We want to be able to be a place where people can find everything they need.”
Proof Bread owners Jon Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid work in tandem to pull finished bread and get loaves ready to bake. The oven used when Proof was still a garage bakery is now in the Shea location.
Sara Crocker
A new space to create
Tucked away in the back of the Shea bakery are two other important additions: a stone mill and a creative kitchen. Przybyl says the mill is only the third in Arizona. He'll use it to grind grains that he gets directly from farmers. The creative test kitchen will allow the bakery team to practice more advanced techniques and pilot new breads that are centered around those heritage grains.“The breads that we start here and take all the way through will be probably the most creative breads we’ve ever made,” he says.
Abou-Eid says they will also test some styles customers have asked about, such as rye.
Along with Proof's growth and the addition of the piloting program, the team also plans to create new starters to join Harriet, Proof's mother sourdough starter that the couple inherited when they took over Proof in 2017. Sourdough starters are a living fermented culture that can be used to leaven breads and baked goods. Because of a starter's longevity, bakers often name them. Harriet will continue to be “the hero,” as Abou-Eid says, and she’ll get some “new friends.”
Abou-Eid says having the opportunity to experiment again is something they are both looking forward to.
“That’s also part of the whole healing aspect is we get to play again,” she says. “I think it’s really an essential part of life to have that space for creativity.”
Tapping the community to grow
When Proof was operated out of a garage, the team was baking under Arizona's Cottage Food Program until a neighbor complained about the number of cars parking in front of their home. After meeting with the city to resolve the issue, the couple was told they had to move the business out within five months.As they scrambled, the owners looked to their community of customers and their then-following of 70,000 subscribers on YouTube (which has since grown to 184,000) for help through a GoFundMe campaign.
“We wanted to move out of our garage. We never intended to stay. It just wasn’t the right timing for us,” Abou-Eid says. “Now it was a blessing in disguise, but at the time it felt very scary.”
But the community responded, giving more than $100,000.
As the couple set out to grow Proof further, they again sought investment from the people that know them best. Przybyl and Abou-Eid have since moved to a crowdfunded investing platform, Mainvest, which allows people to help local businesses raise capital and repays them for that investment as the business makes money.
Abou-Eid describes the crowdfunding process as akin to “breaking bread with your community.”
“Why not make this community bread really sponsored by the community?” she adds.
Proof Bread coming to downtown Phoenix this fall
In addition to the satellite bakery on Shea, this fall, the couple plan to open a third – and, for now, final – bakery and Main Street Harvest in Eco PHX, a solar-powered apartment complex at Third Avenue and Roosevelt Street.Once all three bakeries are open, Przybyl anticipates Proof will be able to serve 6,000 customers each week in store and at farmers markets.
Also later this fall, the couple intends to open an evening walkup window at their downtown Mesa location, serving sourdough pizzas and sweets, like cookies. They anticipate opening the “after-dark” window in October.
“This is the final sprint of growth,” Abou-Eid says.
As the bakeries get up and running, the couple is focusing on how they can best refine what they do, support their baking team and find better balance, personally.
But, they're already considering future plans. Abou-Eid says down the line they hope to share their knowledge with others – particularly home bakers.
“We want to provide a space for that,” Abou-Eid says.
Proof Bread
3110 E. Shea Blvd.125 W. Main St., Mesa
Coming this fall: 301 W. Roosevelt St.
480-270-8320
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July 26, 2023 at 09:01PM
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Proof Bread's second bakery is now open in north Phoenix - Phoenix New Times
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