The Baker Next Door has only been open two weeks, but it already feels like a gathering place for the community.
When I dropped by the Redwood City business to meet the co-owners Brian Clarke and Jenna Johnson, they pointed out a man at the front counter sporting a red bow tie. He works nearby on Main Street, they said, and he’s become one of their regulars.
Some, if not all, of Johnson’s four children and their friends wandered inside on a break from school or summer play. They issued an urgent request for monkey bread.
One of Clarke’s bakers sat at the counter enjoying a late breakfast while he and Clarke had an exchange about the correct number of lamination folds for a particular pastry. Another baker used his bench scraper to shape and transport huge, oblong blobs of pale dough across a prep table.
Long white countertops and low glass partitions separate the open kitchen from the ordering and seating areas. This transparency lends itself to breezy conversations between customers and employees.
The name of Clarke and Johnson’s bakery is also their origin story. A few years ago, Clarke began making loaves of bread at home. He started to share the results with his Redwood City neighbors. More than a hobby or side hustle away from his day job, Clarke bought a commercial baking oven to make leavened breads. The oven has since moved into the café on Main Street.
Johnson, who lives two doors down from the Clarkes, found his baked goods inspiring enough to consider the idea of a collaboration. Her career in the hospitality business included managing The Hut’s opening in Santa Clara. Johnson is largely responsible for the homey décor—floral, but not twee, wallpaper coupled with neutral, complementary paint colors. Clarke maintains he had veto power over the interior design but seldom if ever invoked it.
While they worked on the menu together, it will still be evolving from the soft opening phase. They’re in the process of choosing the best deli meat slicer before they start making lunchtime sandwiches. In the meantime, their hearty breakfast sandwich is a hungry person’s dream come true. I walked into The Baker Next Door on an empty stomach and felt like I’d arrived in my idea of heaven.
The breakfast sandwich is served on a ciabatta roll with an egg made sunnyside up, greens, cheese and bacon. When our interview was over, I wolfed down the sandwich and a Liege waffle while also considering my next purchase—a raspberry muffin, a peanut butter sandwich cookie and, on both Clarke and Johnson’s wise recommendation, a country loaf filled with cherries and pecans.
After our interview, Clarke subsequently made his own breakfast plate and piled it high with greens, grains and his own sunnyside egg. The space itself is modern, clean and airy but watching him and his employees pause to eat the food they’re making adds to the pleasant feeling of being informally at home in someone’s kitchen.
Clarke listed the baked goods he makes, including muffins, croissants, cookies and scones. But he emphasized that the ethos of The Baker Next Door isn’t limited to making delicious food. He started making bread for the people in his neighborhood to encourage a sense of community. Paired with Johnson’s front-of-house experience, the café is an extension of those early neighborhood bakes that began as a cottage bakery in his garage.
The Baker Next Door, open Tues to Sun 8am–2pm. 851 Main St., Redwood City. thebakernextdoorrwc.com.
