There's a new bread coming to town: House of Bread, a small chain based in California, will open its first location in Texas in McKinney, where it will serve a big selection of breads, plus cookies, scones, muffins, and cinnamon rolls, as well as sandwiches made with the bread they bake and other cafe fare.
According to a release, the shop is a franchise being brought to town by husband-and-wife Dustin Marks and Mechelle Coate, empty-nesters who liked HoB's traditional values of handmade quality products. The shop will open in the fall at 7551 Eldorado Pkwy., #100, in a new center at the southwest corner of Alma Road.
House of Bread was founded in 1996 by former lawyer Sheila McCann, who opened the original Bakery Café in San Luis Obispo. The company began franchising in 2000, and in the early 2000s had up to 10 locations. There are currently five locations — one in Southern California, two in Alaska, and one in Reno, Nevada. McKinney will be the sixth.
Their bread is of the softer variety, made with five basic ingredients: honey, water, yeast, salt, and flour, good for sandwiches. And they're admirably transparent with all of their recipes, listing the ingredients under each item on their website.
Their selection of breads include Grandma’s White, Honey Whole Wheat, Harvest Grain, Sourdough, all made daily; plus a rotating variety that changes day by day including Sourdough Artichoke Pesto, Garden Herb, Oatmeal Applesauce, Light Rye, Spelt, Braided Challah, and 9-Grain, plus seasonal breads such as marble rye, hot cross buns, and Irish coffee cake.
Specialty breads include sweet loaves such as Lemon, Cinnamon Swirl, Apple Cinnamon Swirl, Banana Nut, and Chocolate Zucchini; cheese breads including Basil Parmesan, Garlic Cheddar, and Jalapeno Jack; and a Gluten Free selection that includes Cinnamon Swirl and Garden Herb.
They also have a cafe component where they make sandwiches using their bread along with Boar's Head meat.
Sandwich options include club, turkey, roast beef, chicken pesto, an Italian “grinder” with turkey & salami, and a panini with turkey, pesto, and artichoke hearts.
Mechelle was previously a stay-at-home mom who devoted her spare time to animal rescue and worked in retail and apartment management. Dustin graduated from Texas Tech with an engineering degree and is currently employed in the energy industry. Part of their plan is to open more locations, but for now it's one House of Bread at a time.
