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Bloomingpedia:This week's featured article/2006 Week 37
The Bakehouse has two locations in Bloomington. The main location, located at the southwest corner of 6th and Walnut on the downtown square, provides fresh baked bread on a daily basis. A second location on State Road 46 near the College Mall provides an extension of the deli and bagel service of the main location.
The main Bakehouse location at the corner of 6th and Walnut was opened by one the co-owners of Michael's Uptown Cafe in 1995. Strats Stratigios and Michael Cassady aimed to capitalize on a grown trend in the mid 90s toward providing fresh-baked breads. After spending years at Michael's trying to develop good bread recipes, the owners reached out to Bloomington cookbook author Bernard Clayton Jr..
With a license from the Rock Hill Consulting Firm in upstate New York, the Bakehouse brought an artisanal bakery to Bloomington. In May of 1995, the Bakehouse purchased a $55,000, 18,000 pound Fringard oven. It is gas fired, using bricks to retain the heat at a constant temperature. The oven was purchased direct from France and took two weeks to install. Prior to the Bakehouse's opening, Michael London, one of the founders of the Rock Hill Consulting Firm, trained the future staff.
