Third Space Bakery is nearly ready to open in Garfield

Since 2019, Chloe Newman has sold sourdough at farmers markets as Crust Worthy. Alongside batches of bread dough, a new recipe for a worker-owned bakery was proofing in her mind.

Three years and two mutual connections later, Erika Bruce and Beth Taylor — local bakers and food educators — joined Newman to launch Third Space Bakery. It takes its name from the sociological concept of a “third place,” a social environment that exists aside from home and the workplace.

“We thought Third Place Bakery didn’t sound real great, because who’s first and second?” Taylor says. “We decided we want to be … that kind of environment where everyone feels welcome and the community wants to gather there not just to have some fabulous bread and cakes, but to connect with each other socially.”

In August 2023, Third Space signed a lease for the old Spork Pit at 5349 Penn Ave. in Garfield. The bakery is set to open on Friday, April 12.

Bruce says the space had almost everything they wanted; it was restaurant-ready with a walk-in cooler. Plus, Spork already renovated the space when it opened in 2018.

“Location-wise, it’s totally ideal and we’re just so excited that we got to be in the neighborhood we’re going to be in,” Bruce says.

But the space — or lack thereof — challenged the three owners’ vision of having separate areas for the bakery, community gathering place and culinary learning environment.

“Our original designs were a beautiful bakery setup, but we were like ‘Well, we can only teach six people; it’s not going to work,’” Bruce says.

Instead, the three owners embraced modularity. During the day, the custom bakery cabinets and countertops will frame the bakery’s open production space and serve as its point of sale. At night, the owners will move aside chairs and tables, kick off wheel locks and roll the countertops and cabinets against each other to create learning spaces. Power outlets across the bakery’s floor allow for induction burners and other tools to be plugged in.

“It’s a small space, but we’re making it work,” Taylor says.

After subflooring repairs and permitting delays, the bakery’s expected January 2024 opening was pushed to the spring. Still, the trio plugged along, selling baked goods at the Bloomfield farmers market and others.

“I was driving on Penn Avenue the other day and I saw a couple of the spaces we considered … probably around this time of year, and they’re still sitting empty,” Taylor says. “Look at how far we’ve come. It might seem like a snail’s pace at some points, but we keep pushing forward.”

Come the April opening, Third Space will continue to sell at farmers markets. 

“We have a nice clientele base through them,” Bruce says. “Otherwise, we’ll be doing everything out of that space.”

For Newman, working with like-minded people who love baking and value community is the most important piece of the business.

“People are able to invest themselves financially and emotionally, and put in a little more risk but hopefully get a lot of reward out of it,” Newman says. “It feels like a much more just way to run any kind of a small business.”

Ahead of the grand opening, Third Space will be open on Saturday, March 30, with a limited supply of Easter goodies.

For the April 12 grand opening, hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Newman and Taylor say permanent hours have not yet been finalized, but updated hours will be available on Third Space’s website or social media pages.