We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Noel Deeb. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Noel below.
Noel, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
It took a year at least, of writing ideas and brainstorming with others. It wasn’t until I was with my mom in Santa Cruz, CA sitting by the ocean at lunch, she simply says- “what about El Bread?” It felt right immediately.
El is significant because it is what my mother calls me. And the location we happened to be in was special to the both of us as well, it’s where I was born and where my family lived for a number of years. It’s also a fun play on words, “The Bread”. I sat with it just for a few days before I knew we had landed on a name. So, if it doesn’t sit right, the name, move on to something else. It’s also a good idea to make of list of what you want your business to be about- and go from there.
Noel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
To start- I own and operate a cottage bakery in Louisville, KY. I like to say I am a certified village baker. I’ve learned everything I know about baking by trial and error, books and lots of conversations. It started 6 years ago in the corner of my kitchen- baking 8-12 loaves out of my standard home oven. I’ve been in my current space- built out in our new house, for 3 years now. Anywhere from 50-100+ loaves pass through my door weekly. Thankfully, I can now bake 9-12 at a time. It’s easy to take it all for granted- but what a gift when I really think about it.
Baking sourdough bread just made sense for me. It was practical in that it fed my people and it helped me release some creative pressure- when I eventually learned about cottage food laws- it seemed like the perfect choice. I’m a mother of 5 and I wanted to do something that would allow me to be available to my family- something my kids could witness firsthand- which is the goodness of hard work. It feels incredible to have found a craft, passion, job that gets me up in the morning- I never graduated college- worked as a barista from 1996-2006 (hey second wave baristas out there) and decided to stay at home to raise a family after that.
I generally run everything myself, on top of managing my home and the needs, schedules of my kids. It is a lot. But from the beginning, I dreamed of doing exactly this: Having my title as Mom, wife and business owner be fluid. My day is a chaotic dance between all those responsibilities.
My customers see this, and I think they know how special it is. They get to meet my kids when they show up for their orders, I get to bring my son with me to markets so he can run the till. We are a tight knit little community of whole grain stone ground sourdough lovers. The pressure is always to go bigger, but with that, I know some of the uniqueness will be lost. El Bread is elusive, but worth the hunt.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
At a certain point of being home with my kids, I came to the realization that my time was coming to an end. I never wanted to go back to a job outside of the home, but really contemplated how I should spend my days. It was during this period, that I really fell in love with baking, sourdough bread specifically. In 2017, I came across a woman on instagram who was operating a cottage bakery, with her little kids in the background. I remember looking at her photo for so long, wondering, how & what she was up to. As soon as the pieces came together, I just knew this was it.
I began selling a few loaves a week to friends & family. Through word of mouth and a thriving bread community on Instagram, I was hooked. My orders slowly but surely stacked up over time. El Bread has grown organically and sustainably over the years, which I didn’t plan for, but has been so helpful in easing my family life to this new addition. I now have a full week of baking, a business that is respected in the community and flexibility with my family. I am so proud!
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
My customers are who bring me more customers. I have to believe it is because of the way I run my business. Occasionally I hear stories of customers saying they heard about me from their mom, or someone at work. I love this idea. You are at a book club and someone serves slices of bread with butter, oh my goodness this bread, where did you get it? This woman in Old Louisville sells it out of her home. Again, a secret society of sorts.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @el_breadshop
- Facebook: @el_breadshop