A new bakery specializing in English muffins will soon open at 554 Castro Street, formerly Castro Fountain.
As first reported by Tablehopper, Leadbetter's Bake Shop will be opening in May.
Castro Fountain closed in March after 8 years in the neighborhood.
Leadbetter's Bake Shop will open at 554 Castro St. | Photo: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
San Francisco residents may already be familiar with Leadbetter's muffins from purchasing them at Bi-Rite, Rainbow Grocery, Canyon Market, and online through Good Eggs. However, Leadbetter's stopped selling them in 2015 to concentrate on making gluten-free products.
Owner and baker Jamieson Leadbetter is a fourth-generation baker from Portland, Maine. Leadbetter's grandfather originated the shop's unique brand of English muffins.
Leadbetter did not respond to Hoodline's request for comment.
Leadbetter's muffins use a sandwich loaf/white dough recipe, proofed with cornmeal. The muffins don't have the nooks and crannies of a Thomas’ or Bays’ English muffin.
Along with the original plain, whole wheat, nine-grain, and cinnamon raisin muffins, the new shop will feature flavors like cherry-chocolate, apricot-ginger, cheddar cheese, and roasted onion.
Customers can order them with a selection of toppings, including smoked salmon. Breakfast sandwiches, tuna melts, and cheddar muffin sandwiches will also be available.
Photo: Leadbetter's Bake Shop/Instagram
Bagged English muffins will not be available to take home due to capacity constraints at the new bakery.
Baked items like cookies, brownies, and lemon bars will also be available.
Leadbetter will offer coffee sourced from Outer Sunset's artisanal coffee roaster, Andytown.
Initially, Leadbetter's will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 7 am to 2 pm during the week and 8 am to 4 pm on the weekends.
Update, 3/30:
Leadbetter's owner, Jamieson Leadbetter, tells Hoodline that they selected the Castro because of prior good experiences in the neighborhood and the large amount of foot traffic.
"The Castro is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood," said Leadbetter. "We've always had a good time there."
"It has the right mix of neighborhood and city feel at the same time," added Leadbetter. "It's the best of both worlds, it feels like a neighborhood and a city at the same time."
Leadbetter explained that the space will undergo minimal renovations before opening. "We gave it a little bit of a face lift," said Leadbetter.
"We wanted to put our mark on it," added Leadbetter. "We altered the space from a retro ice cream fountain to a more modern bakery."
Leadbetter said he was grateful to Castro Fountain's owner, Juliet Pries for the build-out of the retail kitchen.
