Hewn Bread, the popular Evanston bakery, is expanding into Lake County, opening a new location in Libertyville at 348 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Nearly ten years after owners Ellen King and Julie Matthei opened the first location, they are expanding to a second site, expected to open in Fall 2022. The expansion represents a shift in priorities, with Hewn Bread previously splitting its time between wholesale and in-store retail. Now, the company will use the second site to focus more on the latter. While Hewn Bread will continue to supply various Chicago restaurants, the restaurant has dropped some of its larger clients, such as Sweetgreen.
“They were incredibly kind and nice, and they helped us get through the pandemic and helped us grow,” King tells Eater Chicago. “They had 13 spots that we were supplying, and that was really just eating us alive. I think the one thing everybody’s learned through the pandemic is that as long as people are being transparent and speaking honestly about why they’re doing something, then people are really respectful. Some customers were really sad when we weren’t going to go to the South Loop anymore, but they understood.”
The new Libertyville location will start as a scaled-back version of the Evanston store, offering some favorites such as croissants, brownies, and various loaves of bread. The owners hope to add grab-and-go sandwiches early next year. Hewn Bread will also use the new location to expand its coffee program, having recently partnered with Counter Culture Coffee. The new site will also have cold brew and kombucha on tap.
Ultimately, these features prove the company wants to focus on its customers rather than expending all its energy on wholesale throughout Chicago. Although the bakery will stop wholesale production for larger companies, it will continue to supply to some of its current Chicago-based businesses, such as Evanston’s Union Pizzeria and Billy Corgan’s Highland Park tea house Madame Zuzu’s.
“Wholesale was never what I wanted to get into when I started this,” King told the publication. “I just prefer having a relationship with the customers. Not that we don’t have relationships with our wholesale customers, because we do, but for me, wholesale, especially in this economy, is really just a grind. I don’t want to be working seven days a week. Julie and I just started feeling it was taking over way too much of our life.”
