Starter Bakery, the East Bay wholesaler that introduced many in the Bay Area to the indulgent world of laminated pastries, this weekend is opening its first brick-and-mortar bakery and cafe in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, two blocks from BART and across the street from Trader Joe’s.

The sun-filled retail space at 5084 College Ave. is a dream realized for founder Brian Wood. The former San Francisco Baking Institute instructor who literally wrote the book on enriched doughs and pastry making — both chapters on those topics in the textbook “Advanced Baking and Pastry” are his — has been selling flaky croissants, kouign-amann, muffins, sourdough breads and other baked goods via wholesale for nearly 13 years, operating out of Berkeley.

Starter supplies 200 businesses daily, so you’ll still be able to get your favorite items at places like Philz Coffee and Berkeley Bowl. But the Rockridge bakery, which opened Saturday, has new pastries exclusive to that location. And for the first time, you’ll get to experience them right out of the oven, with a cup of Oakland’s RoastCo coffee, perched on one of the shiny blue stools or light wood tables. Pastries range in price from $3.50 to $5.50. Bread loaves start at $6.

“We’re planning to be baking fresh throughout the morning so when you get your croissant, hopefully it’ll still be warm,” Wood says. In anticipation of the launch, he and his team set out to improve upon their already-impressive brioche and croissants, which include classic butter, almond and chocolate. It took some 38 trial runs to get to what they felt was the ideal croissant dough, Wood says, with a focus on flavor and texture.

That dough will be rolled out across the entire Viennoiserie program, appearing in new items including a cardamom and pistachio bun that gets its peppy flavor from apricots; a coffee milk jam-filled pastry with the espresso-hued custard; and a twice-baked ham and cheese croissant topped with deliciously caramelized onion, something the staff always longed to make but couldn’t do wholesale given the meat element.

Other items you don’t want to miss: Madeleines covered in tangy passion fruit glaze, a brioche-based pecan sticky bun topped with a generous flurry of pecan pieces, a whole citrus meringue pie and a chocolate and almond cake. Yes, there’s an entire case devoted to whole quiches, pies and cakes, another new effort from the Starter Bakery team, which numbers around 120, according to Wood.

“The dream was always retail, but there is no way I could’ve done it without them,” Wood says.

The savory program, which will launch in full shortly after the grand opening, will include grab-and-go salads and sandwiches, likely a tuna, ham and roast turkey, highlighting Starter’s lineup of sliced multigrain, sourdough and brioche breads, which rolled out during the pandemic and fill the shelves behind the counter.

details >> Starter Bakery is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday; starterbakery.com.

Tin Pot Creamery closes shops, pivots to grocery store sales

Your next indulgent serving of Tin Pot Creamery’s ice cream will be a new experience.

Ten years into the venture, founder Becky Sunseri is taking the business into a new direction, switching from selling at her own scoop shops to selling at grocery stores and through other channels.

“We’ve made the hard decision to close scoop-shop locations,” she said. “The business is tough: Margins are slim, the risks have become more apparent since the pandemic, and operational intensity is high. Also, a lot has happened in my life since opening: My husband and I have three children.

“Tin Pot is evolving in a way that will allow us to bring delicious ice cream to more people, and do it in a way that is sustainable for the business and for my family.”

A former Facebook pastry chef with a lifelong passion for ice cream, Sunseri in 2013 started seling her small-batch, organic ice cream in flavors that speak to cake, cookie and candy lovers — even tea aficionados. She’s launched the new business model with a fresh new brand design and eight bestselling flavors: coffee with cocoa nib, blue jasmine tea, salted butterscotch, malted milkshake, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, mint cookie and Cookie Monster.

Seasonal flavors will join the mix. “Recipe development always begins in my home kitchen,” she said, and the ice cream is made in a San Carlos commercial kitchen.

The line is currently available at Whole Foods and Bianchini’s stores. “In addition to grocery stores, we are also at Chase Center and The Clement Palo Alto Hotel, and have some new partnerships in the pipeline. We are also expanding outside of Northern California.”

Her scoop shops at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto (her first), downtown Los Altos, Campbell and San Mateo have closed. The one at Campbell’s Pruneyard is being taken over by Humphry Slocombe, another creative small-batch specialist.

Sunseri added her thanks to her customers, employees and suppliers: “I am so grateful to the community and everyone who made Tin Pot what it is today, and excited about what’s to come.”

Send restaurant news tips to Linda Zavoral at lzavoral@bayareanewsgroup.com and Jessica Yadegaran at jyadegaran@bayareanewsgroup.com.