It’s been more than half a dozen years in the making, but in less than two weeks, Saltwater Bakeshop (opens in new tab) will open a bakery and cafe — though not where fans expected. Owner Brittany Dunn-Holden found a permanent location in SoMa, where she’s been quietly working for the past year. She’ll open the retail storefront May 13, starting with limited hours and no espresso; on May 30, she plans to move to regular hours and roll out the full menu. “It feels surreal,” she says. “I don’t think it’s going to set in until the doors are open and customers are in the space.” Even welcoming friends and family felt “emotionally overwhelming,” she adds. “Then, of course, my daughter ran up screaming for cake.” 

Dunn-Holden gained attention as head baker for Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, the Tenderloin business behind 2016’s viral cruffin. While girls with winged eyeliner snapped ’grams against a hot-pink neon sign, Dunn-Holden was buried deep in an underground kitchen, pumping out a thousand pastries a day. She left and opened Saltwater as a wholesale bakery in 2018, returning to her more seasonal, natural baking style as a beach babe who grew up in San Diego. With the goal of opening a storefront by 2020, she was meeting real estate agents and touring spaces when the world shut down. Saltwater pivoted to selling at farmers markets, where a dedicated following still shows up, rain or shine. They were thrilled when she signed a lease in the Richmond in 2023, then outraged when it got embroiled in red tape (opens in new tab). Now she has found a home in the former Chantal Guillon Macarons on Howard Street.

The biggest addition will be sandwiches, which will make the most of the freshly baked bread. For breakfast, there will be a classic bacon, egg, and cheese (take note, former New Yorkers) and a chicken-sausage variation, both on pillowy potato buns with aioli. Lunchtime baguettes will come stuffed with roasted chicken, red peppers, and basil spread; turkey, avocado, and pickled onions; and roasted eggplant, zucchini, and peppers with hummus. Ritual Coffee, a longtime wholesale customer, will provide beans for drip coffee and espresso, and there will be spiced chai. 

Dunn-Holden worried about foot traffic in SoMa but has been pleasantly surprised to meet many friendly neighbors. The space itself “couldn’t be better,” she says, set up to accommodate volume baking, with an expansive retail area facing the street. It’s 7,200 square feet, most dedicated to production. The storefront was crisp and white, so Dunn-Holden is making it more colorful and comfy. Customers will enter on the left, peruse a long pastry case, then grab a seat on a cozy couch or armchair, a tall barstool, or a long wooden bench. Perhaps most shocking, she’s offering free wifi and outlets — making this one of the rare SF spaces where you’re welcome to flip open a laptop. All of this beneath a sweeping mural of the Golden Gate Bridge and Cupid’s Span by Sugar Murals. 

Saltwater Bakeshop might be the biggest San Francisco bakery you don’t know you’re already eating — across many restaurants and coffee shops. If you’ve ever crushed a crostini at Fiorella (opens in new tab), lobster roll at Broad Street Oyster Co. (opens in new tab), or pain au chocolat at Ritual (opens in new tab), Excelsior (opens in new tab), or Third Wheel (opens in new tab), then you’ve tasted Dunn-Holden’s work. And she’ll continue serving at farmers markets: at the Ferry Plaza on Saturdays and Clement Street and Fort Mason on Sundays. 

It’s shaping up to be a big year for big bakeries in SoMa. A couple of blocks away, Rize Up Bakery (opens in new tab) will open a retail storefront by July, selling colorful sourdough with fun mix-ins like jalapeño, bacon, cheddar, and purple ube. Dunn-Holden says she’s excited for neighbor baker Azikiwee “Z” Anderson and has nothing but love and respect for his distinct style. “It’s like chocolate chip cookies,” Dunn-Holden says. “Everybody likes a different style — it’s just what people want.” 

Perhaps a rising tide lifts all bakeries, and this we know to be true: You can never satisfy the craving for good croissants and sourdough in San Francisco.