Grassroots Gourmet Bakery Opens in Bloomingdale

Anonymous

I’ve been buying their baked goods via their catering biz for years. Amazing stuff! Kathy’s chocolate chip cookies (triple chips — dark and white) are beyond words. Soooooo goood! Everything they make is delicious!

Roz

Website says this: “We are currently closed as we focus our energy on completing our new kitchen and storefront. Soon you will be able to come visit us in Bloomingdale, DC! We look forward to meeting you.” Soo…

Anon X

Im not sure I understand your point. Are you disputing the idea that the bakery is open? Despite pictures of the interior and a sign that says “open”?
- Roz
  
  Just pointing out the contradiction, Champ. Causes a bit of confusion. Take it easy.
  - Anon X
    
    Hey Chief, only the slowest witted person would be confused by this situation.
- evanseesred
  
  Haha!
  - Roz
    
    I actually do have aspergers. Thanks everyone.
    - Shawgirl
      
      Love these comments! Esp Chief and Champ up above. Classic! Roz, you are funny! Just go with it. Also wanted throw my vote in for savory items, especially croissants and baguettes for a price that a normal civilian can afford. For vegan items, try the Ethiopian bakery at 4th and ria ne. The French style cookies are amazing. Youll swear theres a stick of butter in them. Used to be next to habesha mkt on 9th street.
Anonymous

it’s open. trust.

Anonymous

Is there seating or is this strictly takeaway?

Anonymous

no seating.

Anonymous

I think they said take away for now, with possible seating to come later.

Prices are pretty high for Bloomingdale….. 2.75 is not horrible for a cupcake but when you look at the price for a dozen WOW : )

Sounded like a good idea when they advertised, not sure it fits in with the prices people here can support. Wish them the best though!!!

Anonymous

How about a cupcake once in a while for a special treat instead of an all-dozen approach?
anon

If you think the prices are high for Bloomingdale I’d invite you to check out Boundary Stone, Big Bear, etc. to see the prices people *are* paying for goods in the neighborhood. And those establishments don’t seem to be lacking for patronage.
Anonymous

Bloomingdale real estate is some of the most expensive in the city, and people are falling over each other to buy craft beer, lattes, and artisan pizza from neighborhood vendors. I hardly think that the prices here are out of line.
- Anony
  
  Most expensive in the city, pa-lease. Yes, it’s hot right now but the exaggeration simply show that you own there and are riding that bubble. If you mean top 10 fair enough but I am still looking for that $400 – $500k rowhouse in Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Woodley Park, Dupont, Logan Circle, etc….
  - Anonymous
    
    which $400K rowhouses in Bloomingdale are you thinking of?
    - mmk
      
      +10 million
    - Anonymous
      
      there are a few under 500k in bloomingdale right now.
    - Anonymous
      
      I believe there are six. One is a short-sale. Three are total gut jobs. One while not needing a total overhaul, needs considerable work. The last faces on Florida. I would say slim pickings and the runts of the litter comprise the under $500K set.
- theheights
  
  Bloomingdale is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city? How many $1.5 – $3 million homes have sold there in the last year? I agree, though, that the “the bakery pricing is too high for the area” claim is unfounded. If anything, experience has shown that newer residents in transitional neighborhoods will willingly pay ridiculous prices for food and services.
  - Anonymous
    
    so patronizing. what wouldn’t be ridiculous prices by your take?
  - anon
    
    as a bloomingdale resident… i still have a hard time believing that Windows can charge almost $10 (slightly hyperbolic) for spagetti sauce. damnit Windows!
CA

Lol, such an odd poorly researched evaluation of the economy of Bloomingdale.

Hop on Zillow/Redfin to check out what homeowners are shelling out to live in the n’hood, the bidding wars for sale and rental properties; not to mention the 5 new commercial spaces opened in the last 1-2 years, this new addition and the two additional slated for next year.

Bloomingdale is in full motion to look like a Woodly Park in the coming years.
- Anonymous
  
  Bloomingdale is in motion to become Woodley Park in the next few years – that’s an interesting proclamation. I think Anony had a great point in response to the most expensive re in the city for a little dose of reality. Don’t get me wrong, I think Bloomingdale has a lot of great qualities so there’s good stuff there. Let’s not be so far removed from reality, though, that we become deluded. For one thing, WP is metro accessible. Even though I would guess many/most people in the area have cars, the metro accessibility is a nice bonus. Also, look at the immediate butting neighborhood (N Cap), which is a different feature than CT.
  - seaton
    
    woodley park will always average more per square foot than bloomingdale. it’s just silly to think that bloomingdale will ever become like wp.
    i live in and love bloomingdale, but you’ve got to be a fool to think it’s the most desirable or expensive hood in the city. what it does have is a lot of young people, a lot of young wealthy people, a lot of locally minded people, and a lot of well connected people. so it gets a lot of hype. other hoods have that too though. i think people get to know their neighborhoods so well that they don’t really see how much the entire city keeps changing.
    - Anonymous
      
      I’m not sure what your point is in response to my comment other than to see that Bloomingdale will not become WP, which I agree with you. You also said if I am reading correctly that people become so enmeshed in their neighborhood that they can’t see how the city is changing. I think Bloomingdale is changing and I’ve always said there is a lot of good stuff but I also have doubts that it will ever become a WP, not even sure that Bloomingdale would want to become a WP.
    - Anonymous
      
      I’ve lived in Bloomingdale for 10 years and can tell you that 10 years ago you would never have believed it would have come as far, and become as expensive, as it has. is it ever going to become like woodley park and have a zoo and a bunch of 8 story pre-war condos plopped down in it? Of course not. However, the fact is that it is one of the 5 neighborhoods in the city with a significant stock of 100+ year old victorian, federal, and other homes still in good condition.
      
      The comparison to Logan is actually pretty good. 10 years ago you never would have believed Logan would be as expensive as it is either. Read the Post article about the Whole Foods on P street from directly after it opened for a taste. That block (not to mention Church Street) was a largely vacant craphole 15 years ago.
    - theheights
      
      Bloomingdale’s not “going to become like woodley park and have a zoo and a bunch of 8 story pre-war condos plopped down”
      
      Are you sure you’re not confusing Woodley Park with Arlington? That’s not a description of Woodley Park I’ve heard before. As someone who’s seen the changes DC has gone through over the decades I agree with your general sentiment – I think Bloomingdale has come a long, long way. I’m not sure I agree about there being a big stock of federal-style homes there, however. More on Capitol Hill. Most of Bloongdale’s housing stock dates from almost 100 years after the Federal style was popular.
    - Anonymous
      
      you aren’t aware there is a zoo in woodley park?
      
      how odd.
    - theheights
      
      No, what’s odd is mischaracterizing Wardman-style homes as “8-story pre-war condo buildings.”
    - Anonymous
      
      how would you describe the buildings visible in this street view?
      
      https://maps.google.com/maps?q=connecticut+ave+nw+and+calvert+nw+washington+dc&hl=en&ll=38.923493,-77.052698&spn=0.009465,0.021136&sll=30.307761,-97.753401&sspn=0.672229,1.352692&t=h&hnear=Connecticut+Ave+NW+%26+Calvert+St+NW,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia+20008&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.923489,-77.052825&panoid=SSmQIJcfZ-NAB5VORLWWqg&cbp=12,248,,0,-0.7
      
      wardman-style rowhouses?
- CA
  
  Late to the discussion to clarify my point, but I meant Glover Park. With that said, I do see that it is not a completely parallel comparison, just a comparison.
  
  Bloomingdale will be its own thing and have a unique identity, so of course it won’t be exactly like any neighborhood. Logan is probably a better comparison with developing N. Capitol poised to be similar to 14th Street levels of development.
  - Anonymous
    
    The only slight problem with comparing N Cap development to 14 Street is that N Cap is a main artery into/out of the city and I’m not sure how much foot traffic you’d encourage on N Cap for people who might want to stroll down going from business to business.
    - Anonymous
      
      Connecticut Avenue is also a major artery out of the city.
      
      I agree that North Capital today is still pretty far off from feeling like Connecticut, but development is incredibly rapid all around it, and will occur like dominoes once it begins on North Cap. Bloomingdale went from strictly plexiglass-cashiered corner stores and “chinese food” carry outs to having almost all retail frontage leased in three years. Same thing is going to happen on North Cap. South of New York Ave is almost there with the NPR building and development just to the north of it.

jcurly412

This is great. I hope others in the neighborhood will encourage them to sell vegan products!

DF

Pretty sure you’ve heard of Sticky Fingers, no? Make that HUGE trek up to CH for your vegan needs.
- Anonymous
  
  indeed, there can only be one vegan place.
- Park View Pirate
  
  I always crack up at their award of “Best Vegan Bakery in the City”. Really, are there that many to warrant a big sign claiming that distinction?
Anonymous

You should check out Uncle Chip’s.
- Anonymous
  
  Yes! I don’t know why this place doesn’t get the love.
  - Anonymous
    
    doesn’t it? all my neighbors love it.
  - anon
    
    also love it!

Anonymous

wish they opened at 7 am instead of 8 so I could stop by before work.

Grassroots Gourmet

Hi Neighbors! Thanks for the shout out, PoP! We wanted to let everyone know that we are indeed open and so excited to be in Bloomingdale. Our website and menus are still in transition, but our doors are open and cases are full of baked goods. Please stop in for coffee, sweets and treats. All cakes and pies are made to order.

Our hours are:
Tues-Fri: 8am-7pm
Sat: 9am-3pm
Sun: 10am-2pm

Looking forward to meeting you all soon!

mla

Welcome to the neighborhood! I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, however, if you ever baked traditional bread (i.e. rye, pumpernickel, baguettes, sourdough) I’d be in there once a week – promise.

Anonymous

agree, not much of a sweet tooth here but would love fresh baguettes.
DCdeity

Totally agree! I’ll still make a point to stop by for a little something here and there.

Welcome to the ‘hood, guys!
- evanseesred
  
  Oh wow, yes!! Fresh bread / bagels ….. PLEASE!
  - gloomingdale
    
    Bakery/Patisserie are different skill sets, no?
    - gloomingdale
      
      whoops, see below
Anonymous

Agree also – would definitely buy good baguettes and whole wheat sandwich bread.
- shawtopetworth
  
  Not trying to sound rude but baking cookies/cakes/muffins is very different from baking breads. There are methods in baking bread that are completely different from making a cake. It’s not like someone who makes cakes can immediately switch to breads. (But I’m not suggesting that they can’t- I just wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.)
  - Anonymous
    
    You are right about this point. Baking bread requires some differences in technique from sweets such as muffins, cakes, cookies, pies. However, it’s not impossible for the same person to have the ability to do both. Just make sure you are cognizant of what you are making and you’ll know which techniques to apply.
    - Anonymous
      
      while the demand for a fresh (savory) bakery is huge in this area, Grassroots Gourmet clearly has a passion for sweets. and it’s their business.
      
      are they missing out on potential cash? yes. but aren’t most of us?

Mott

They could use a chalk artist.

eckingtonite

A pie store! 2 blocks away! This is awesome.

Anonymous

I find the pricing somewhat off when you buy a dozen. For some items, you essentially get two free, for others, just a little more than one free. I just find that odd. I would agree on the hours, but maybe they need to see what kind of business they generate for coffees, etc., in the morning. As someone who needs to be at work by 8, Uncle Chips is my go-to morning coffee place because they are open and much quicker than trying to get something at Big Bear. Also, Uncle Chips does have Vegan and Gluten free options, which is great. I’d love to see this bakery serve up breakfast sandwiches – maybe just on the weekends?

Anonymous

I don’t get your point about pricing/doz being off. I suppose for some baked items, they are more complicated than others. If you think the scale is off (2 free as opposed to 1.4 free) maybe the store should charge you for each one and throw in 1 for good measure, that would be called a bakers dozen, my friend.

bb

Very exciting, and a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. Agree on the point about fresh baked bread. I would also buy this.

Ben

Ha!

Anonymous

wow…$35 for a dozen muffins. i must be gettin’ old!

shawtopetworth

Sounds like $3 a muffin made from scratch sounds reasonable to me. If people want cheap baked goods, Safeway/Costco are great alternatives.

Anonymous

Do you know how easy it is to bake muffins?
- Anonymous
  
  Is it as hard as brewing coffee…
- Anonymous
  
  there are still costs involved. factory bakeries have figured out means to lower those prices, but there are tradeoffs with that. if you don’t believe so, fine. others do.
- shawtopetworth
  
  I do. I also know how much ingredients costs, the approx cost for a bakery in DC to pay in rent, utilities, labor, etc. So if you want a cheaper product, they’re out there but there’s always a trade-off whether it’s a person making it vs a machine, fresh ingredients vs a mix, a large factory in the burbs vs a bakery in a city. People seem to forget these factors when pricing out food.
  - Anonymous
    
    Actually that wasn’t the point of my comment because you’re right, you’d have to factor in rent, utilities, etc. to price out baked goods and factor in the location and market rate. I asked the question because if I want really good baked goods, I’ll just make them. And then I can have an entire dozen or whatever to suit my heart’s content.
    - Anonymous
      
      oh! you can make them yourself at home cheaper? thanks for the tip.
    - Anonymous
      
      Anonymous 11:25, why all the snarky hostility? Yes, most of the time people can make things at home for cheaper than at a restaurant, cafe or bar. What’s the problem?
    - Anonymous
      
      my snark was hostile? i thought it was just snark. i even said thanks.
    - Anonymous
      
      Anonymous 11:41, yes, your snark was hostile. By definition, hostile is unfriendly and antagonistic. Snarky, by definition, is critical, cutting, testy, short-tempered, irritable, rudely sarcastic, snide and disrespectful (qualities that would be likened to being unfriendly and antagonistic). Your inclusion of saying “thanks” becomes immaterial when coupled with your snarky hostility, which pretty much cancels out any sense of gratitude with a perfunctory “thanks.”
    - Anonymous
      
      nope, just snark.
Anonymous

Lordy. How about we all just agree that some people love baking and saving money and prefer to make their own delicious homemade muffins for cheap, while others are lazy or busy (or both–and I put myself in the “lazy” category) non-cooks who have a little disposable income and think it’s worth it to occasionally spend $3 on a delicious muffin made by someone else? Everybody wins.
- Anonymous
  
  I totally agree. Some people don’t play well with others.

ugh

Anonymous at 11:52 stop while you are behind… no one wants to hear your proclamations of the obvious. No one.

Anonymous

Before this new space weren’t they operating/baking out of their apartment? Not sure that was legal, however still quite yummy!

Anonymous

Only in DC does news of a bakery opening bring up questions of the legality of baking in ones own home. Funny place.
- Anonymous
  
  apparently you’ve never been to another city. Running unlicensed food establishments out of your home is never legal. For example, the New Yorker this week has an article about ‘underground’ cooking in Los Angeles which mentions a couple recent cases of people getting busted running restaurants or dinner clubs out of their homes.
  
  Perhaps this is legal in Cedar Rapids or Pensacola or whatever backwater you are used to however.
  - Anonymous
    
    DC does have stricter regulations on running a food company out of one’s home, including NYC, unless the regulations in NYC have changed in the past 10 years.

Brian Minter

This bakery is terrific! It is run by friendly people (cousins!) and they make delicious cookies.

I’m not sure why this post brought on so much hostility and snark and angry back-and-forth over so many trivial things. People act so crazy in the internet.

Anonymous

Certainly, the real estate debate that spawned was off topic. But the legality of and concern stemming from a seemingly unlicensed home-based bakery seems to be anything but trivial.
- Anonymous
  
  sorta moot now that they’ve moved to a brick and mortar.
  - Anonymous
    
    Ha ha ha!
    
    That’s like saying:
    
    “Hey neighbors, I ran an illegal business next door/downstairs/maybe upstairs from you for years – it was illegal, didn’t meet health code, couldn’t pass health dept. inspection – hell it never even got inspected, because – well we never even had a business license, and probably endangered you and yours. Anyway, so we’re opening a brick and mortar store next door to you.
    
    Don’t worry, it’s all good.”
    
    Or rather, moot.
    
    Delicious.
    - Anonymous
      
      do you have proof that it was illegal?

Subscribe to our mailing list