Coronavirus could have closed this SLO County bakery. Instead, it’s giving away free bread

It’s no secret now is a difficult time for local businesses.

With the coronavirus outbreak forcing everyone to stay at home and away from traditional shopping or dining out establishments, a number of San Luis Obispo County businesses have been forced to pivot if they hope to survive.

This story is part of an ongoing series looking at how businesses are coping.

Do you have suggestions for businesses that are doing exceptional things during the outbreak? Ones that you think should be highlighted? Let us know! Send your suggestions to reporter Nick Wilson at nwilson@thetribunenews.com, and help The Tribune spotlight local businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Back Porch Bakery

Location: 289 Prado Road, San Luis Obispo, and 6005 El Camino Real, Atascadero

Website: www.backporchbakery.com

A real-life bread line forms in San Luis Obispo every morning just before 7 a.m.

Sometimes stretching down several blocks, the line starts in a nondescript small shopping center off Prado Road. People begin lining up as early as 6 a.m., all waiting to pick up an assortment of fresh baked goods or supplies from Back Porch Bakery.

“It’s been a zoo,” co-founder Bill Brocco told The Tribune on March 26, only a few days after launching it’s unique new business model.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit San Luis Obispo County earlier this month, it quickly became clear to Back Porch’s management that things wouldn’t be able to continue as usual at their San Luis Obispo and Atascadero locations. Restaurant orders for breads and baked good supplies dwindled as those local businesses were ordered to shut their dining rooms. Others were concerned about money and feeding their families as many people were laid off from their jobs.

So Back Porch Bakery decided to go back to its roots.

“We were getting a little nervous about how we were going to do this,” Brocco said. “How we were going to pay our employees. But then we reworked it and we decided we needed to put some positive things out there.”

The workers continued to bake bread, fresh pastries, cookies, muffins and whatever else they wanted to, but instead of providing it to restaurants or selling it at their cafés, Back Porch Bakery started giving the goods out for free. People were asked instead to donate what money they could spare, in hopes of covering others who couldn’t.

And it worked out like gangbusters.

How the bread line works

Each day, they open their (still physically closed) doors — at first just in San Luis Obispo but now in Atascadero as well — and pass out baked goods and other free supplies until everything is gone. Usually that’s within an hour-and-a-half of opening, Brocco said. Then they wake up the next day to do it all again.

“We didn’t know what to expect, and man, the community came out and it’s been great,” Brocco said.

According to Brocco, the bakery is producing thousands of loaves of bread a day, as well as dozens of baguettes, bags of buns and hundreds of different pastries and sweets. They are also offering baking ingredients and supplies like bags of flour for anyone who needs them.

“We actually increased our production, which we didn’t expect,” Brocco said, noting that at first they weren’t sure how much need or interest there would be. “We’re meeting the need as we go.”

The temporary coronavirus model is reminiscent of the bakery’s earliest days, when co-founder Dan Berkeland started baking and handing out bread out of his San Luis Obispo backyard. Each day, he and his wife Caroline would hang a flag from the back porch when there was bread, and take it down when they were out. The food was handed out for free, with a tin can set out for donations.

It’s that spirit — of a pirate bakery that serves just for the joy of feeding its community — that Brocco said he and Berkeland wished to emulate again during this time of local crisis.

“We’re trying to be a beacon right now,” Brocco said. “The whole idea is that we are gonna offer it, and you can take it, and donate if you can.”

Back Porch is also offering baking supplies like flour and sugar, for those who want to bake at home.

“It’s a great time to learn how to bake. Bread’s a fun thing to do,” Brocco said. “Fill your home with some good smells since you’ve gotta be trapped there.

Community shows its support

Customer Kat Thompson lined up on a recent morning at Back Porch’s San Luis Obispo location to pick up some items and show her support.

“It’s amazing, I think, how they’re coming together for the community and offering groceries if people need that, and just amazing bread. It’s really incredible,” she said.

The donations go toward supporting the bakery’s employees and buying supplies, Brocco said. Stickers on the items show a barcode that people can scan with their phones to make an online donation to the business.

There’s also an option to apply your donation to the commercial account of some of Back Porch’s restaurant partners, so that once those businesses are allowed to reopen or resume normal operations, they can get an added financial boost from the community.

“Our hope is that its going to balance out and we’ll be able to support our employees and families,” Brocco said.

And as long as donations keep coming in, they’ll keep baking.

“We’re going to keep an eye on it and keep open and keep paying everybody,” he said. “Every time being available to just feed the community — it’s been great.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:56 AM.