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Walnut Creek Magazine

As Kneaded Bakery Launches Local Lady Larder in Support of Women-Owned Businesses

Aug 16, 2020 11:42AM ● By Fran Miller


BY FRAN ENDICOTT MILLER

Bay Area native Iliana Berkowitz (pictured above) spent years on both coasts in bakeries and restaurant kitchens honing her craft before deciding to build her own bread business, As Kneaded Bakery, the products of which are beloved throughout the Bay Area. After developing an initial fan base through pop-ups and a weekly bread subscription program known as ‘Bread Club,’ Berkowitz took a leap and started serving wholesale accounts and farmers markets throughout the region. She also made a personal pledge to support local businesses, in particular, women-owned businesses.

In concert with her own San Leandro-based bakery which provides baked goods to various high end markets and eateries, Berkowitz is launching Local Lady Larder, providing an opportunity for Bay Area female food entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their delicious wares via the As Kneaded Bakery website. 

Local Lady Larder products

"As a woman entrepreneur myself, it's important to me that As Kneaded Bakery uphold the mission to support other small, local, women-owned businesses,” says Berkowitz. “As soon as the bakery opened at the end of 2018, I started hosting a quarterly pop-up series, later named Fem Marché, where women-owned businesses were invited to pop up in front of the bakery to share and sell their products. However, due to COVID-19, we had to discontinue these pop-ups. As a creative alternative, we invited women-owned businesses (many of them previous Fem Marché participants) to share their products through Local Lady Larder, a new section of our online shop.”

Local Lady Larder features a fantastic selection of edible goods from more than a dozen Bay Area, women-owned businesses. Starting August 26th at 4pm, customers can pre-order creative and delicious products online any day of the week. They can then pick-up their order on Sundays and/or Wednesdays, between 10am – 2pm at the As Kneaded Bakery storefront at 585 Victoria Ct., San Leandro. (A well-worth-it 30-minute drive from The Creek.)

In addition to As Kneaded Bakery’s own selection of outstanding sourdough loaves, French baguettes, challah, and both sweet and savory noshes, Local Lady Larder will feature: nougat from Le Dix-Sept, jam from Maison de Monaco, granola from Nana Joes, teas from Naturacentric, honey from Sweet Serendipity Honey, olive oil from PRMRY, nuts from Nuts Plus Nuts, chocolate brittle from NeoCocoa, pickles and jerky from Real Mojo Foods, love crisps from Diane Love San Francisco, ice cream from Koolfi Creamery, and milk tea drinks from Bay Cha.

As Kneaded Bakery products

“It's been a tougher time than usual to operate a food business and I feel Local Lady Larder will not only connect the community to unique and local products but also provide a platform and help sustain these growing businesses," says Berkowitz. 

Starting August 26, place your Local Lady Larder orders here

Photos courtesy of As Kneaded Bakery

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