Aug. 27, 2020

The massive oven in Breadico’s new retail space is fired up and baking bread, but the bakery isn’t quite ready for customers yet.

Owner David Napolitano is waiting for one piece of equipment to be delivered and installed before he can finish up the counter and do more test baking for new products.

He and his wife, Megan, have been doing much of the build-out work themselves in the 3,700-square-foot space in The Wedge on Western, a retail center on Western Avenue south of 69th Street that also include Daily Clean Food & Drink, EarthWise Pet Supply & Grooming, Define fitness studio, and Bryant Salon and Spa.

“The sign should go up in a few weeks, and then when that goes up, we’ll be opening,” Napolitano said. “We’re excited to open our doors to people of this neighborhood.”

Breadico likely will draw people from across Sioux Falls and the area, having built its reputation for artisan sourdough bread in the past eight years. Customers will find an industrial-looking design that draws focus on the making of bread, with the oven as the centerpiece.

The new gas oven is four times larger than the previous one, Napolitano said.

“I wanted it to look massive when you walked in. I wanted it to look like, ‘Oh, this is a bakery, people.’ ”

He’s adding a flour mill to grind grain for some of the breads and other bakery items. Some of the grain will come from West River.

“A lot of the grains we’re getting are going to be ancient grains like einkorn. They’re really good for people who are gluten-free.”

While Breadico’s long-fermented sourdough breads are gluten-friendly, “you can’t really ferment cookies,” so that’s where the ancient grains also will be used, allowing more people to be able to enjoy them, Napolitano said.

The cookies are the specialty of his mother, Linda. “I’ve built her a little cookie kitchen,” he said. “People are always asking about her biscotti and cookies.”

The new space also has a separate kitchen area for the grinding and mixing, which can be seen through large windows, and a room in the back for packaging.

Breadico’s breads will continue to be available at grocery stores such as the Sioux Falls Food Co+op, Pomegrante Market and five of the seven Hy-Vees in Sioux Falls.

With the new space, Napolitano also plans to begin shipping bread to customers and will pursue restaurant accounts.

“That’s something we’ve never been able to do effectively before,” he said of providing loaves of bread and packages of buns for restaurants to use.

The new bakery won’t have seating, but customers will be able to get an espresso drink to go with their bread, cookies or pastries – a new offering that will be available once the retail operation is running smoothly, Napolitano said.

“It will be things like turnovers – we’re still trying to figure it out – croissants, puff pastry, all of those crusty, rustic things.”

Breadico likely will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. six or seven days a week, Napolitano said.