ABOUT US
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Backhaus was founded out of a desire for community and excellent bread. We want to continue improving our craft and growing as bakers, pastry chefs, and baristas, but we also want to engage our community and share our passion for what we do.
When you walk into our bright, airy space and along the corridor that leads to the sunny back patio, you will notice large windows into the bakery that provide a full view of the entire production process.
These windows were one of the first decisions we made when designing the space. Inviting our customers to be curious about the craft of baking and how we work has always been one of our core principles. We believe that this kind of transparency is the first step to fostering a deep appreciation for the skills and care that go into this craft.
Backhaus is a place that brings people together – where you can enjoy good food and drinks with old and new friends. Our goal is first and foremost to offer well-crafted baked goods and drinks and create a welcoming atmosphere for everyone.
We consider ourselves an impact-driven company, meaning we have no intention of spreading out geographically and reaching as many customers as possible superficially, but to have a deeper connection with our local community. This is why in 2021, we became a pick-up location for CSA boxes from our friends at Brisa Ranch in Pescadero. We aim to be an example through our commitment to sustainability, our business and management practices, and our social engagement in the local and international community.
MEET THE TEAM
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Anne
Born and raised in Germany, Anne permanently moved to California for love in 2013. In her family and circle of friends, baking has always been a way to express caring and appreciation, but it wasn’t until 2014 that she discovered her love for baking bread. In 2016, she decided to leave her career as a translator behind and founded Backhaus in her home kitchen. Backhaus has been a way for Anne to stay connected to her roots while also building a strong bond with her new adopted home. She loves understanding the why and how of baking and sharing her passion with those around her. Her favorite way to start the day at Backhaus is with an oat milk latte and a Speck & Egg bowl or a warm traditional croissant.
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Robert
A California native, Robert studied theoretical physics abroad in Leipzig, Germany, where he met his love and business partner while participating in community theatre. Knowing from the moment Anne pulled the first home-made loaf out of the oven that she had a natural gift and her tenacity and dedication would do the rest, Robert decided to fully embrace and support this dream. He was the friendly face at the farmer markets in the early days, designed the layout and look of our space, and worked on parts of the construction of the bakery. Robert currently spends most of his time behind the scenes as the CFO and maintenance handyman. Robert loves his family, board games, karaoke, and an early morning coffee with a fresh baked Everything Croissant Bowl.
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Lindsey
Lindsey began her hospitality journey in 2017 pivoting from a career in Parks and Recreation and deep diving into the world of food, third wave coffee and artisanal bakeries. Passionate to learn each facet of the industry she's worked as a pantry chef, barista, server, cafe manager, and special events director. After meeting Anne and Robert while working at Kitchentown, she fell in love with what Backhaus was setting out to accomplish and came onboard to help open the first Backhaus location at 3rd Ave. Lindsey has a passion for helping to create warm and welcoming experiences for customers and employees alike and adores that it also happens to be her job here at Backhaus.
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Paul
Paul has 7 years of coffee experience, and has a passion for the hospitality industry. Before Backhaus, he was a Cafe Manager for Blue Bottle Coffee, helping open three new locations in the peninsula. To Paul, having the opportunity to make someone’s morning better with a delicious cup of coffee and a smile make the hustle of the hospitality industry worth it all. His favorite way to start the day at Backhaus is with a hot cup of coffee and an Almond Croissant, or when they are in rotation, a delicious Cardamom Swirl.
JOIN THE TEAM
We are always looking for self-motivated, talented people with a passion for excellent food, coffee, and hospitality. If you are interested in working with us, e-mail your resume to heythere@backhausbread.com
or check out current openings by clicking below.
WORKING AT BACKHAUS
Backhaus is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive work environment. We celebrate the diversity within our team, recognizing that it is our diversity and what each person brings to the bakery that makes Backhaus an amazing place to work.
We also recognize that each team member’s contributions to the bakery no matter their role are of great value and for this reason we practice tip pooling. This means that all tips are shared equally between all full-time and part-time hourly team members of Backhaus based on how many hours each team member works in any given pay cycle. We strongly believe that every position on the team is “in service to the customer”. Our customers come back again and again because of the delicious bread and pastries created by our bakers and the welcoming atmosphere and outstanding coffee drinks provided by our café team, but none of us could do our job properly without our dishwashers that work so hard to keep our tools, equipment, and space clean and looking beautiful. We all pitch in as a team to deliver the best possible products and experience to our customers, so each staff member deserves their share of the gratuity.
Baking, just like any job in the hospitality industry, is physically demanding work that has historically been categorized as "unskilled" or “low skilled” and is therefore commonly underpaid. We whole-heartedly reject these dated ideas and are instead committed to creating a bakery that considers the long hours of work committed to the craft of baking and hospitality fully worth paying for. Because we believe this line of work can also be a career with longevity, we will always consider the physical demands of the job. We try to keep our working conditions as humane as possible, which sometimes means that there are limitations in terms of what time items are available, how much we can produce, etc., but we consider this to be a minor inconvenience for the health and happiness of our team members.
In addition to sustainable wages plus tips, we also offer our full-time staff a group health insurance plan (including dental and vision), 401ks with vested contribution matching, paid time off, and six weeks paid parental leave.