By ROBERT BRUM
In 2018, Dawn and Jason Bowman were planning to move down South and put their Pound Ridge home on the market. When it didn’t sell, they took it as a sign.
“During that time, we just fell in love with this community and thought, ‘We’re not going anywhere,’” Dawn Bowman said recently.
A fortuitous outcome for the town, particularly for the Pound Ridge community, where neighbors and visitors wait patiently on line at BreadsNBakes, their Westchester Avenue bakery in Scotts Corners whose success fed directly into the recent reopening of the Bedford Post Barn.
“We are amazed at how it’s grown,” Jason Bowman said of the two enterprises.
The couple arrived from the United Kingdom in 2012 — Dawn, a teacher, and Jason, with the Armonk-based reinsurance firm Swiss Re.
In 2019, he decided to pursue his passion as a baker, which started when he was a student and was later refined during a training course at the renowned King Arthur Baking Company.
Dawn was working at Booksy Galore, Susan Williamson’s book and record shop, and in January 2020 Jason began selling baked goods fresh out of the couple’s kitchen from a trolley at the store.
It didn’t take long for demand to rise. “We’d sometimes arrive at Booksy with our bags and there’d be a line of people waiting to pick up,” recalled.
They launched BreadsNBakes, specializing in European-style breads and pastries, in July 2022, its reputation quickly spreading by word of mouth.
The shop began supplying baked goods to The Bedford Post, the historic inn and tavern co-owned by Richard Gere that’s now managed by majority owner Sunday Hospitality. At that time, The Barn had been closed for about 18 months.
“We knew we had more than just this one bakery in us,” Dawn Bowman said. “And we started looking around and thinking about what our next steps would be. We’re a faith-based business, so every step on the way we prayed about what we’d do, and we really feel like when the right opportunity comes along, we know about it.”
During a sit-down with Sunday Hospitality, she recalled thinking, “Can we just dream for a moment? What would it look like if BreadsNBakes came to The Barn? And we had a little chat and threw some ideas around and three months later they came back and said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
The breakfast and lunch menus at the rustic, 60-seat bistro feature BreadsNBakes’ specialties such as croissants, brioche French toast, club sandwiches on farmhouse bread, burgers on brioche, and pain au chocolat.
“I’m obviously learning fast because I’ve never run a restaurant before and I absolutely love it,” Dawn said, adding, “What a wonderful environment. You couldn’t ask for a more peaceful property to do it.”
Sunday Hospitality’s Adam Landsman knew the first-time restaurateurs had a recipe for success.
“They’d been able to open a bakery without having any experience, and put in the time and work to do it,” Landsman said. “They have such a great relationship with the community and they really care.”
The bistro’s been busy, especially on weekends. “We’re only a few weeks in. The food and service are better every day, which is what happens in an opening,” he said.
The Barn’s reopening means that along with the tavern, the property has been open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Landsman pointed out.
‘Part of the magic’
At BreadsNBakes, one can sip a coffee while watching croissants and baguettes created right in front of them, seeing freshly baked goods coming straight out of the oven.
”There aren’t many places we know of where you can see it, and I think the theater of the whole thing is part of the magic,” Jason Bowman said.
The bakery’s location next to the Pound Ridge Green is a nice fit.
“I think we’re building community,” Dawn said. “It’s a place where people can gather and feel completely at home. People can make new friends. The amount of people that have made friends here, it’s just lovely to watch.”
Jenn Streicher met the Bowmans in 2021, when they were selling their products at the bookshop.
“I was always so impressed with how good their baked goods were,” said Streicher, who owns Scout, a makeup and beauty shop originally located on Westchester Avenue across the street from the bakery. “When they told me they were thinking of opening a space, I was so excited and I really encouraged them to do it because I thought it would be such a great addition to Scotts Corners.”
She added, “Everything they do is well done and thought out and meticulous. They just bring a great energy to the neighborhood.”
Streicher’s husband, photographer and artist Jonny Cournoyer, had a hand in decorating The Barn, with his paintings of local seasonal images displayed throughout the bistro.
Balancing act
Lisa Miller, owner of The Cottage, the vintage goods and gifts shop a block from BreadsNBakes, said the Bowmans were well matched.
“The two of them are a great balance and they’ve added to our business association and our downtown,” said Miller, president of the Pound Ridge Business Association.
Jason Bowman concurred.
“We’re both in our sweet spots but they’re complementary and I think that’s part of the reason it’s successful,” he said. “We’re both doing what we love and the two fit together really well.”
He added, “I’m very happy at the back and I like to see the customers and give them a little wave, maybe pop out and say hello to the regulars, but I’m much happier on the production side. Dawn’s all about the people. She’s energized being at that counter or being at The Barn and seeing the folks come in and chatting with them.”
Tea time
What’s next for the Bowmans?
“We want to do what we’re doing now well. We don’t want to distract ourselves, but having said that, we’ve got lots of ideas that we can do at The Barn,” Dawn commented.
In September, they’re planning to start hosting traditional English afternoon teas at The Barn, complete with finger sandwiches, pastries, scones and jam. These could grow into seasonally-themed events at harvest and Christmas time.
The Bowmans met in church and that bond with their faith has remained central in their family, which includes a son, Jack, and daughters Millie and Esther.
“We want to reflect that as part of our business in the way we operate, having a giving-back mentality, having a philosophy about our staff, where they all share in the success of the business,” Jason said. “Unless we have a conviction that this is right, we won’t do it.”