Launched in 2020 as a tiny, home-based enterprise, Izola founders Jeffrey Brown and Jenny Chen aim to spread their bread and croissant company throughout Southern California
A sampler platter of fresh-baked breads, croissants and pastries at the new Izola Bakery in San Diego’s East Village. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic on June 10, 2020, Jeffrey Brown and Jenny Chen started selling their home-baked, warm-from-the-oven organic croissants and sourdough bread, which they delivered “touch-free” to customers on the street via a rope-pulled basket from the window of their third-floor East Village apartment.
Then eight months ago Izola was shut down on a few hours notice when Brown and Chen learned their their city operating permit no longer covered their business, which had grown from the two of them in 2020 to more than 30 employees last fall. It was a devastating blow that Chen called “the worst day of our lives” because all of the employees had to be let go.
The restaurant sells a rotating variety of 27 flavors of sourdough breads and croissants, as well as Tahitian vanilla knot pastries and morning buns. There are also coffee drinks and tea. The busiest day of the week is Saturdays, when a line usually forms around the block with up to 600 orders by the time the doors close at 2 p.m.
The company now employs 52 workers and rising sales now warrant both a move to a 24-hour baking schedule and, soon, the restaurant will begin opening on Sundays. With the increased production automation could deliver, Brown said they could hire 170 more workers. Eventually, they plan to open 12 retail locations stretching from Tijuana to Hollywood, each with onsite ovens so everything can be served warm. They’re also talking about a UPS overnight shipping operation, offering home-delivered overnight shipments to customers as far away as Los Angeles County.
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