Published January 2005

House of Bread:
Mill Creek shop bakes up loaves
using fresh, wholesome ingredients

Snohomish County Business Journal/KIMBERLY HILDEN The House of Bread in Mill Creek, owned and operated by Anita and Wayne Warren, bakes up sweet and savory goodies.

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

After more than two decades in the high-tech industry, Wayne Warren was ready to jump ship and chart a new career course. So a couple of years ago, he and his wife, Anita, began scouring the Internet for franchise opportunities.

Their search led them to House of Bread, a California-based franchise that emphasizes the use of fresh, wholesome ingredients to create delicious breads and baked goods.

In September, the Warrens opened their House of Bread bakery in the Mill Creek Town Center. Two months later, they held a grand-opening celebration complete with a giant cinnamon roll — weighing in at 80 pounds and measuring 5 feet, 2 inches at its widest point — to feed to visitors and curious passers-by.

“We had a wonderful turnout. The people of Mill Creek have been so supportive,” said Anita Warren, noting that the cinnamon roll, which could serve 300, was gone in 45 minutes.

Although the Warrens have made their name locally with cinnamon rolls, their shop serves up baked goods from sweet to savory, including apple cinnamon swirl, sourdough, focaccia, nine-grain and honey whole-wheat breads.

All of the whole-wheat breads and goodies, such as the bakery’s whole-wheat caramel rolls, use Montana wheat berries that are stone-milled on-site to retain the grain’s nutrients, and the white breads and treats, such as the shop’s raspberry pinwheel rolls, are made with vitamin-supplemented flour. Pure honey, a natural preservative, is used to sweeten the products, which are baked fresh daily.

“We like selling something that we particularly like and can be proud to sell,” said Anita Warren, a former manager of Nordstrom’s cafe at Alderwood who now oversees the House of Bread’s staff of 17.

During its first three months of operation, business has been on track, Wayne Warren said, and the couple already has bought a second franchise territory with the hope of opening another shop in the next couple of years.

“After starting a second one, we’ll evaluate starting a third,” he said, adding that he would like to be a resource for others considering opening a House of Bread franchise — and solidifying the brand — in Washington state.

“We think that something like this does contribute to society,” he said of House of Bread’s products, many of which are low in fat and contain “good carbs” — the nonprocessed whole grains that have become part of the dietary lexicon in light of the recent high-protein, low-carb diet trend.

But the low-carb trend may be slowing. According to recent research from NPD Foodworld, a leading provider of food-consumption patterns, only 4 percent of the U.S. population partakes of a low-carb, high-protein diet.

“The Atkins (diet) is going to moderate and rebound toward good carbs,” Wayne Warren predicted.

In the meantime, the Warrens have decided to educate consumers about the carbohydrates they eat — and tempt them with their delicious, wholesome breads.

“Sampling is very big for me,” Anita Warren said. “I will sometimes give people a bag of samples to take home ... because people cannot know how a bread tastes unless they taste it.”

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