The Nuflours crew, by Charity Lynne Photography.
A new generation is ready to continue a nearly 80-year tradition of baking on 15th Ave E.
“We’ve been searching for the perfect place for a while now, and a spot on Capitol Hill was where we always saw our business thriving,” Amanda Bedell, co-owner of Nuflours gluten free bakery, tells CHS. “The residents are food savvy and the neighborhood is urban with high walkability, close to the downtown, easy to get to from the freeways. And, for now, 15th is relatively easy to park.”
Bedell and co-owner Phebe Rossi plan to open their first brick and mortar location this spring on 15th Ave E in the space where North Hill Bakery shuttered after losing its lease after 13 years in the longtime bakery space.
Nuflours, formerly d:floured, launched in February 2011 at farmers markets, coffee shops, co-ops, and grocery stores. The business has been operating out of a rented baking facility, but, happily, have outgrown that space.
In early December, Nuflours plans to start renovations on the 1936-built 15th Ave E building just south of E Mercer.
“This site has always housed a bakery,” said Rossi. “And we are excited to continue that tradition. We plan to offer the same tasty treats that residents have come to expect, but with a unique twist. They’ll all be gluten-free.”
Marisha Cowles of Moss Design will be designing our space. “The feeling we’re going for is open, clean and bright,” Bedell said. “We’re creating an updated historical feel with repurposed wood, steel and other recycled materials.”
North Hill, meanwhile, isn’t completely done saying goodbye yet. You can stop by 518 15th Ave E on Saturday, November 16th for a garage sale to help clear the bakery space out of more than a decade in accumulated treasures and give thanks and best wishes to owner Margaret Rumpeltes as she sets out to do some holiday baking — this year, for friends and family only.
With the changeover from North Hill to Nuflours, 15th Ave E is seeing a continued pulse of new investment. Nearby, Ada’s Technical Books opened its new home and cafe. Just north, the Lost Lake crew is preparing to overhaul The Canterbury. Across the street, demolition for a new four-story apartment building will come early in the new year. Meanwhile, the bakery ranks of the neighborhood have already been massively strengthened with the addition of Bakery Nouveau’s Capitol Hill location at 15th and John earlier this year.
Gluten free offerings are also on the upswing with dedicated efforts at Capitol Cider’s gf focus and Guilt Free Goodness’s outlet on Broadway joining a general direction away from the gluten end of the spectrum on many menus around the Hill.
In a statement on the new bakery sent to CHS, Rossi said she hopes Nuflours becomes a community hub on the formerly funky but suddenly bursting at the seems 15th Ave E.
“We hoped that we’d land on Capitol Hill,” said Rossi in the statement. “From the moment we saw the space, we were drawn to it. We love the building’s history and we love that it’s always been family owned. However, our plan is to be more than a local bakery. We want to be an active member of this community. Our passion is to feed the body and the spirit. In time, we hope to become a much-loved meeting spot as well as a place where people can attend classes and host community events.”
You can learn more at nuflours.com.
Capitol Hill food+drink notes
- Dulces is now open at 19th and Madison. And *still* hasn’t returned CHS’s calls.
- Juicebox’s new 12th Ave cafe opens… any minute now!
(Image: Juicebox)
- In case you missed it, the Lost Lake boys are taking over The Comet. Why isn’t Lost Lake in bold? It’s bold up top where the boys are also taking over The Canterbury. Watch out Crescent!
- In case you missed it, Montana gals planning Nacho Borracho for Broadway.
- Speaking of Rachel Marshall, her ginger beer has gone national.
- Resto’s owner has been arrested and charged in a domestic violence assault case.
- The Bauhaus build-out of the Capitol Club is moving forward but the schedule has been pushed back. The cafe is now planning a December re-birth just up the Hill on E Pine.
- “Does it get ruined by the fish smell?“
- Latest addition to the food and drink offerings at the now year-round Broadway Farmers Market? “Melt’s mac ‘n cheese, now available in heated snack packs to eat while you shop.”
- Lotus Thai opens next to Catfish Corner in the CD.
- Stay hungry and be ready:
- Melrose Market cheese monger Sheri LaVigne of Calf and Kid wants to open the city’s first cheese bar… in Ballard. She has just over 48 hours to scare up another $13,000 in backing.
- New Madison Valley chocolate walk-up may be worth a visit:
Swiss-born Hans Riechsteiner is no stranger to sweets – he and his wife have made some 750,000 Liege waffles over the years he spent owning two Arosa cafes. But Hans, as his regulars affectionately call him, has sold off the family waffle businesses and two months ago opened Ascona Chocolat Suisse, a Madison Valley chocolate shop specializing in imported confections from his motherland.
- Eater Seattle includes no Capitol Hill restaurants and no Capitol Hill chefs in its polls for 2013 “best of” awards.
- World of Beer Capitol Hill grand opening celebration is November 25th.
(Image: World of Beer via Facebook)
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Good news about the bakery! I hope they include some of the North Hill gluten free items as a recognition of how delicious they were. Margaret’s polenta cakes were wonderful. Thanks for the update.
Why can’t a bakery have gluten-free AND gluten product?
Selfishly, I agree. I will try though and hope for the best.
For me, and others suffering from celiac disease or sever gluten intolerance, even the slightest cross-contamination can cause a reaction. We can’t eat goodies that are baked in the same oven or on shared counters with the gluten protein.
Cross-contamination is a big problem for some people. My daughter has celiac disease, which means she can’t have even the slightest bit of gluten or it’ll really mess up her gut. For example, they have gluten free pies at High 5, but you can see all of the gluten flying around the air in that kitchen, and you know there’s all kinds of cross-contamination going on. We’re super-excited about this new TRULY gluten-free bakery!
Wonderful news….I have tried the is baked goods and they are the BEST! ……even for gluten lovers. This will be a great addition to the neighborhood.
My celiac daughter and I are so excited for this!!! I wonder how they’ll manage to d:flour the site after 80 years of wheat-baking, though.
Yes, it will be hard (expensive) to remove 80 years of wheat baking (Phebe & I will have to enter with hazmat suits, for real)! But, we’re working closely with our local GIG chapter to ensure we are safe before opening. To be honest, a lot of the equipment in there currently will be sold by North Hill, so we’ll be starting from scratch anyways. We’ll show progress on our social media accounts. Follow us, details below!
facebook.com/nuflours
twitter @nuflours
http://instagram.com/nuflours.
EXCITE!! I work with the utilities that provide fuel for your new location (PSE/SCL) and want to make sure you know that there may be rebates that we provide for any new kitchen equipment you plan to buy (in addition to some other things). Shoot me an email so I can make sure we’ve got you covered!! (I’m also Celiac so, HOORAY!! So glad to see this post!! Can’t wait to eat some deliciousness!)
If cross contamination by one particle of grain gluten is a significant risk to celiac sufferers, then isn’t a bakery space of 80 full-gluten years exactly where you shouldn’t operate a gluten-free operation? Wouldn’t new construction decrease risk?
The majority of people who claim to be gluten-sensitive are not. Yes, there are some with genuine, doctor-diagnosed sensitivity, but mostly this is the latest food fad…..remember the “low-carb” diet?….that fad has gone away, and so will gluten-free.
The owner of North Hill Bakery, Margaret, was coldly pushed out by the landlord and was not even given the chance to bid for a new lease. Therefore, I will not patronize any business that replaces North Hill, because they are “dancing on the grave” of a wonderful bakery.
That’s not a very nice attitude. Why not give the new small biz owners a chance?
And regarding your assertion that gluten insensitivity is just a trend — not so. My sister, wife, and daughter have all been diagnosed by doctors. More and more kids are being diagnosed — my daughter goes to a special session at summer camp where they set up a special GF kitchen for all of the campers who can’t eat gluten. Do some reading on the issue before you jump to such conclusions. It may be a fad for some people, but for MANY others, it’s a real issue.
Dave, please note that I acknowledged that there are some people with real gluten-sensitivity. But I stand by my assertion that the vast majority of those claiming this condition are just on a fad bandwagon.
If a “gluten-free bakery” had to rely on customers who were truly sensitive, they would go out of business.
Is this true about them being pushed out? Why was this not given as the reason by the owner for why they closed?
The owners of the building did not give North Hill Bakery a chance to stay or match the lease negotiated with the new tenants.
John is correct. I personally spoke with the North Hill owner (Margaret), and she confirmed that was what happened.
How aweful. Makes me not want to step foot in this new bakery, not that I would have anyway.
Um. Wow. Gluten intolerance is not some fad or trend. Please do your research.
p.s. This is something everyone should be aware of:
“Wheat strains have been hybridized and cross-bread to make wheat resistant to environmental conditions such as drought and pathogens. Such changes to wheat have resulted in drastic changes in its genetic code. Even small changes in the protein structure of wheat can cause an abnormal immune response in many individuals. Glutens are the proteins in wheat, and hybridization causes a structural change to these proteins. In one hybridization experiment, fourteen new gluten proteins were identified in the offspring of wheat that were not present in the parents. When compared to century-old strains of wheat, modern wheat strains exhibit a higher amount of genes for gluten proteins that are associated with celiac disease.”
-Wheat Belly
Sorry, but it’s a proven medical fact that only a small percentage of those who claim gluten-sensitivity actually are sensitive. I have done my research.
I too loved North Hill and wanted to have them stay, I went in there almost every day and considered them a great bakery and lovely people. But, I will try the new bakery and patronize it often if I like it. I do not blame them for Margaret not getting the lease, it was the landlord who did it. I would much rather have another small business than some 4 storie with a bar in the retail.
If I were one of the owners of Nuflours, and knew that they were replacing a great bakery whose owner (Margaret) was not allowed to bid for the lease, then I would think twice about taking over the space. They are complicit in North Hill’s demise.
Northhill had to go out of business because they couldn’t come up with any money to pay their rent. All a person had to do was look inside and see that the business was dead.
Who gives a lease to a tenant that can’t come up with money to pay their rent? Landlords give leases to renters who can pay rent and are a thriving business in the community.
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I loved North Hill Bakery. I went to school on the Hill and am always up there for one reason or another, so North Hill has been a loved tradition. But I will also love Nuflours –a bakery perfect for a new era and a new way of thinking … whether you’re gluten-intolerant or not. I eat gluten, but I am starting to make a serious effort at decreasing the amount in my diet. As I get older, I need to be able to absorb as many nutrients as possible, and gluten coats your intestines (think of it as sticky cement!), preventing them from being able to do their job. Anyway, that’s just me, but as someone currently reading “Wheat Belly” … well … all I can say is, WELCOME, Nuflours! (By the way, I sampled their goods at Columbia City farmers market — and I can guarantee that these peeps bake up some serious YUMMY-ness).
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