Inside the Early Hours Before the Doors Open
At Dutch Oven, our mornings start at 3:00 AM.
In Edgewater at our production site, sourdough bread that was mixed the day before gets baked off first. Boules, sandwich loaves, baguettes and loaf of the day. Bagels are shaped by hand, boiled and baked. Someone is baking and filling pastries or frosting cinnamon rolls. We’re checking numbers, quality control and loading racks into the box truck.
By 7:00, we’re watching the clock. Bread has to leave Edgewater by 7:15 to land on Canal by no later than 7:45. That window matters and if we miss it, the whole morning shifts.
At our retail space on Canal Street, lights are on, espresso is warming up, pastry cases are getting filled and bread is being sliced. Boxes folded, merch straightened and music on. We’re texting back and forth between locations… “Do we have enough sandwich loaves?” “Did the almond croissants turn out?”
By 9:00 AM, the doors open. From the outside, it looks calm. But our workday started six hours earlier!
This type of business isn’t for the weary. It’s early mornings, split shifts, deliveries, and a lot of coordination. The main ingredients? Consistency and communication!
It’s our 5-9 before your 9-5. And we’re grateful you show up for it!
