How one family turned a kitchen-table idea into the heart of their community.
Quick Take
In a quiet corner of Oregon, a family of three turned a love of homemade bread into a thriving business that now employs more than 20 locals. This is the story of The Willow Street Bakery — a small-town success that proves heart, patience, and a perfect loaf can still win in a world dominated by chains.
The Spark
It all began in 2017 when Michael and Lila Bennett, a young couple from Ashland, Oregon, decided to start baking sourdough for friends and neighbors. Michael was a firefighter, Lila a part-time art teacher.
“When we started, we didn’t even think of it as a business,” Lila recalls. “We just loved seeing people light up when they tasted something made by hand.”
They named their venture The Willow Street Bakery, after the tree outside their kitchen window — a symbol of resilience and growth.
Each Sunday, the couple baked 15 loaves in their home oven and sold them from their driveway. Within three months, they were producing 60.
The Struggle
Scaling up wasn’t easy.
They ran their first year entirely from home, waking at 3 a.m. to mix dough and juggling deliveries before work. When the pandemic hit in 2020, their local farmers market shut down — and for a moment, so did their dream.
But instead of giving up, they pivoted.
Michael learned how to build a small outdoor oven, and Lila began sharing videos of the process online.
Their warm, unpolished clips — full of laughter, flour clouds, and early-morning hustle — caught on. “People weren’t just buying bread,” Michael says, “they were buying into our story.”
By that summer, their follower count had exploded, and customers were driving from neighboring towns to buy a loaf.
The Turning Point
In 2021, a retired carpenter who loved their bread offered to help them convert an old auto garage into a bakery. The couple poured their savings — and most of their free time — into the renovation.
By early 2022, The Willow Street Bakery officially opened its doors. The first week, they sold out every day.
Word spread fast. Local news outlets covered their opening, and food bloggers began calling them “the heart of Ashland’s Main Street.”
The Strategy That Worked
Looking back, the Bennetts credit their success to three simple principles:
- Start small, scale smart: “We didn’t borrow big,” Michael says. “We grew only as fast as we could bake.”
- Tell your story: Their social media videos built connection, not just visibility.
- Stay personal: Every loaf comes with a small hand-stamped thank-you tag.
Lila adds, “When people feel your hands in the product, they remember it.”
The Spotlight
Today, The Willow Street Bakery employs 22 people and serves pastries, sandwiches, and — of course — its signature sourdough to hundreds of customers a day.
Their shelves sell out by noon, and their café has become a community hub for writers, students, and early risers.
Michael still starts the ovens himself every morning.
“I like the quiet before sunrise,” he says. “It’s when I remember why we started.”
Advice for Other Founders
Lila’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs:
“Don’t wait for a perfect plan. Start with one thing you can make, do it well, and grow from there.”
Michael adds:
“Your story is your brand. People can buy bread anywhere — but they come to you for meaning.”
Final Word
The Bennetts’ story proves that even in an era of big-box stores and food delivery apps, small-town craftsmanship still has power.
The Willow Street Bakery isn’t just a business — it’s proof that authenticity, patience, and love can still rise higher than any trend.