In 2014, Doug Wistendahl brought his hobby of baking to Athens.
A former New York lawyer, Wistendahl founded Athens Bread Company on 284 E State St., connected to Kindred Market.
Following Wistendahl’s retirement in 2021, Tim McKenna became head baker and owner of the bread company. McKenna, an Ohio University alumnus, worked in New York first as a butcher and eventually found his passion for baking.
In 2020, McKenna came back to Athens and began his career as a cashier at ABC. He now serves residents with baked goods Monday through Friday.
ABC is often praised for its close business-to-customer relationships.
"The atmosphere of the bakery is warm and inviting, with friendly staff and a cozy atmosphere that makes you feel like you're part of the family,” Jordan Wagner said in an online review.
Lauren Wloszek, an ABC employee and OU alumna, said it is important to the bakery staff that Athens locals have places to connect and shop for quality food.
“We see the same people maybe two or three times a week ... It’s just nice to know the community,” Wloszek said.
Wloszek said ABC products are made with organic ingredients and baked with care. Daily breads include baguettes, country loaves made with organic whole wheat, ciabattas and others.
“You can tell how much the bakers put into the bread, how much they care about it,” Wloszek said. “(They) actually care about what you’re buying and the quality of what they’re selling.”
Chuck Borghese, a visiting professor at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, said he visits ABC roughly once a week.
“I love the atmosphere; to me, it is very much a microcosm of Athens,” Borghese said. “It’s warm, it’s inviting and they’re really good at what they do.”
Borghese, an OU alumnus who currently lives in Columbus, rediscovered his love for ABC when he began working at the university.
“I fell out of touch with the Athens Bread Company, obviously, but remember how much I loved it when we were living here,” Borghese said.
Borghese considers stopping at ABC on Thursday evenings to pick up bread for the weekend a “ritual.”
“I’ve never had a bad experience (and) I always try to get there as early as I can; there are a lot of people in there,” he said.
Borghese said he typically gets the Siciliano or olive ciabatta.
ABC also sells croissants, cookies and other pastries ranging between $2.50 and $4.50. The 10 daily breads range between $3 and $7.50. Specialty loaves are priced from $4.50 to $18, depending on the size and flavor. Speciality loaves are available depending on the day of the week.
Borghese said he recently grew an interest in baking sourdough and asked the ABC staff about their bread-making process.
“I went in and asked him, ‘How do you start a sourdough starter?’ and he just gave me some,” he said. “I’ve been cultivating it and using it for about three months, and it’s amazing.”
With the final months of the year filled with holiday celebrations, Wloszek said orders increased. To prepare for the holidays, the ABC staff plans a menu consisting of their most popular items.
Wloszek said it is difficult to maintain a wide variety of items during big holidays, so the menu shortens to account for large orders of top sellers. ABC is also announcing days that are strictly pre-order and pick-up as opposed to walk-in purchasing.
“As it gets closer to the holidays, it will mainly just be pickup days,” Wloszek said.
Sarah Skelly, an ABC employee, said with the small staff, busier days require a lot of preparation and hard work from everyone.
“We do switch our hours sometimes around the holidays to prepare for that,” Skelly said.
ABC is open Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
