Eater's Guide to New And Upcoming Bakeries

Forget ramen, gelato and fried chicken. In the D.C. area there's been a recent surge in neighborhood bakeries, and it's not stopping yet. Whether they're using crowd-sourcing campaigns to open, operating as brick-and-mortar establishments in former saloon spaces or existing as part of a larger mission to train veterans, these baked good purveyors are popping up with greater frequency.

Eater has the details on where to score freshly-made cookies, rolls and loaves around The District, especially when brutal temperatures mean opening the oven is not the most appealing option at home. This is a mix of places that have debuted in the past six months or so, or bakeries to keep an eye on as they draw closer to opening.

NEW AND OPEN

The bakery: Bread Furst
The location: 4434 Connecticut Avenue NW D.C.
Major players: Mark Furstenberg
The scoop: This is the Mac Daddy of D.C. bakery openings this year. Mark Furstenberg, as most food fans know, is the man behind Marvelous Market and Breadline. Bread Furst, which opened to acclaim and excitement in May, puts freshly-baked bread first, with the shop's website touting it as a place to find "the kind of remarkable bread that we often remember and rarely find." The ever-changing seasonal menu also includes a range of pastries along with a rotating slate of soups, salads and sandwiches for fuller meals. Recent menu items have included brownies, an olive salad and an authentic baguette.
Website

The bakery: The CakeRoom
The location: 2006 18th Street NW D.C.
Major players: Fadi Jaber
The scoop: Originally called Sugar Daddy's Bakery (there was a legal issue with the name, even though it's a Middle Eastern chain), The CakeRoom is now hot pink in decor, and serving up cakes, cupcakes, pies and cookies since the start of the year. The popular date cupcakes feature date flavor both in the cake and icing portion of the dessert.
Website

The bakery: Uprising Muffin Company
The location: 1817 7th Street NW D.C.
Major players: Donnie Simpson, Jr.
The scoop: Instead of another cupcake shop, Shaw now has an eatery devoted to the cupcake's cousin. And the muffin man behind it is Donnie Simpson, Jr., son of the radio host. Every muffin created at Uprising, which opened its doors in April, is created by scratch using 10 ingredients or less. The so-called daily dozen of muffins always on hand span from lemon poppy seed to black bottom to cranberry orange. Meanwhile, the special batches that constantly rotate reflect wackier flavors such as pina colada, snickerdoodle and a savory muffin that riffs on a breakfast sandwich. Salads and more standard sandwiches and wraps also come on the menu.
Website

COMING SOON:

The bakery: Rise
The location: 2409 18th Street NW D.C.
Major players: Michael Koritko, Mollie Bird, Jaimie Mertz
The scoop: Rise, being billed as the city's first and only gluten-free bakery, is set to open this summer on 18th Street in Adams Morgan. The forthcoming store has been tempting customers on Facebook by announcing menu items one at a time with colored photos of croissants, German chocolate cupcakes and bagels. An early June post by Rise management estimated that the bakery is still one month out as they await inspections and building permits for the space.
Website

The bakery: Dog Tag Bakery
The location: 3206 Grace Street NW
Major players: Rick Curry
The scoop:This forthcoming Georgetown bakery is about a whole lot more than the fresh bread in the window. Disabled veterans and their spouses will be doing the baking as part of a program that helps them transition back into life after combat. Every six months will see a new class of bakers. The estimated opening date right now is some time after Labor Day, according to Dog Tag. When that happens, baked goods on sale will include biscuits, cookies and — to complete the theme — four different different kinds of dog biscuits. A chandelier featuring 3,456 dog tags will be a decorative centerpiece inside the store. The man behind Dog Tag, Brother Rick Curry, of Georgetown University, has a book out on Jesuit breadmaking.
Website

The bakery: Frenchie's Artisan Pastries
The location: Maketto (1351 H St. NE)
Major players: Erica Skolnik
The scoop: A successful Kickstarter campaign, which ended last month, helped Erika Skolnik raise in excess of $40,000 and will go toward turning Frenchie's into an H Street bakery. Frenchie's has been a croissant stand at the FreshFarm H Street Farmers Market that operates in the spring and summer. But the Kickstarter campaign is making it possible to go from stand to storefront. The upcoming bakery, housed at Erik Bruner-Yang's anticipated market Maketto, will have fresh bread, pies, cakes, cookies and snacks.
Website

The bakery: Three-Fifty Bakery
The location: 1926 17th St. NW
Major players: Unknown
The scoop: Eater spotted signage for this upcoming bakery, which says it's "coming soon" and appears to be coming along, construction-wise. Still no details, though, on who's behind it and what they're planning.
No website

The bakery: Rare Sweets
The location: CityCenter DC
Major players: Meredith Tomason
The scoop: Tomason, a veteran of Union Kitchen, will sell cakes, ice cream, sorbet and candies at her first brick and mortar location. RareSweets will also sell desserts wholesale, and plans to offer delivery and catering, as well as gift baskets.
Website

The bakery: Bayou Bakery
The location: 921 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Major players: David Guas
The scoop: Bayou Bakery (more of a lunch spot, but also the purveyor of such baked goods as biscuits and beignets), is opening a second location in late 2014.
Website

POTENTIAL ARRIVALS
"Cake Boss" star Buddy Valastro is hunting for a site in DC…Georgetown cafe Baked & Wired is in talks for a space in Mount Vernon Triangle…bagel baker Jeremiah Cohen's pop-up Bullfrog Bagels could lead to a brick and mortar shop Update: Sticky Fingers just announced today that it will open a second location of the vegan bakery in early 2015 as well.

—Dena Levitz