TFB Rebuild Steps

Jun 28, 2023

Dear Friends,

After months of developing options after the fire last year, I am pleased to note that we are finally moving expeditiously toward securing a building permit. With luck, we should break ground and begin (re)constructing the building later this year.

All indications are that the city will treat our situation as a type of remodel rather than as new construction, a distinction which should allow us to put back approximately the same square feet on the same footprint. Accordingly our plan calls for keeping the south and west brick walls which we hope will allow the new building to retain much of its original charm.

Currently, we're racing to get basic interior layouts completed, and we're leaning toward the idea of a longer, narrower seating area that runs along the south wall on 29th street past the large picture window. We're also imagining generous skylights over a cappuccino bar and bakery wall along the north side of the old dining room. This is a design pattern that has long animated my thinking about what we should change if we ever got a chance to start over from scratch. Well - now we have that chance.

I'm also spending time collecting pictures of bakeries and restaurants that are similar to what we do and that I find particularly beautiful - hint, I look at pictures of Gjusta in Venice CA a lot. But I also thought I'd take a moment to do a bit of crowd sourcing. So if you have a favorite spot that you think we might want to consider as we move forward - please feel free to send a link or digital photo. I certainly don't have a monopoly on good source material in this regard and I'd love to see any tips our patrons might offer.

As we dream a new building into being we are also putting our shoulder into the bistro and bakery operation. Our biggest job for the moment is to keep grinding and keep the wheels on financially. And as we’ve swung into June, keeping TFB in black ink has gotten more challenging. As you may have noticed, the weather has turned downright toasty, and a lot of folks seem to be away on vacation. Traffic - both on the roads and in the TFB garden - has been noticeably quieter.

So I wanted to invite all of you to support our efforts if you can, and one of the best ways you could do that if you are in town this summer is to sign up for a weekly Bakery subscription through Table22. Memberships are available for local Austin delivery to your home or can be pickup at the TFB garden each Wednesday. Subscriptions include weekly rotating staples of baked goods and will feature both breads and a few pastries and sweets that should keep your pantry in good stead.

Join by midnight 6/30 to reserve your spot for July.

SIGN UP for Weekly Bakery Subscriptions