2900 Ghost Story Blvd

Dear Friends,

I thought you might enjoy seeing a few pictures of our ongoing construction effort. The steel structure is up and wow - it is a lot. When the decision was made to move away from the building’s traditional use of brick mass walls and timber joists and instead build an entirely new support structure with steel framing, I’m not sure what I expected. But whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t anything so substantial and industrial as this.

At the moment it feels a little dark under the new roof, but soon we will be removing the wooden support structures that line the exterior along 29th street, blocking the windows. We’ve also planned for several skylights that will allow natural light from above. Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting a better sense of how the new building is going to feel and how it will carry forward the energies of Texas French Bread, and before us, the Rome Inn.

Those energies have always been strong and independent. I can’t remember if I’ve shared this story previously, but on the afternoon of Christmas Day 2021, Carissa and I finished up a festive holiday meal and walked down the block to spend a little time in the bakery space during one of those rare days when it was actually quiet and empty.

I’d made a habit over the years to visit the space on Christmas Day. But in 2021, the visit seemed more vital and urgent than ever. We’d all been through a lot over the previous year or so. After a period of closure we reopened and began serving from the front door, greeting customers from behind masks, then reopening for service in the garden. When we finally opened the doors of the building again that fall we saw a rebound of business that was nothing short of furious. It felt crazy.

So as Carissa and I walked the building, we were thinking about how we might rebalance those energies. We wanted to clear out some of the dead, corrosive energy that seemed to hang around like cobwebs in the corners - a hangover effect after the trauma of peak Covid I suppose - not to mention the chaos that ensued over those final three months of 2021 as everyone rushed back out into the world and tried to make up for all the lost time.

But that Christmas Day it was still and quiet inside the TFB dining room. Wintry late afternoon sunlight pierced the big arched window in the dining room and shot sideways across empty tables. A hint of flour dust floated in the air giving off a sparkle in that sharp light. We walked through the whole building, starting there in the front before working our way back through the bakery and the kitchen and even the dish-pit. I was listening - for what, I’m still not really sure. And I guess I was wondering about what all the ghosts and spirits of the old building might want for the coming year and how we might best work with the spirit of the old place to bring new, fresh, creative energy in - especially after everything we’d all been through since 2020.

Afterward as we walked back down the street to our house, I didn’t have a sense that anything had shifted. But it had felt good to make the effort. We were asking the right questions - meditating on how we might best move forward into a new year in harmony with this new world as our city emerged from the bleakness that had characterized the pandemic. A month later almost to the day fire came and engulfed seemingly everything. For many long months afterward, it seemed that not much of TFB would survive.

But here we are three years later in the late stages of rebuilding. The building coming into view is far more solid and substantial than the one that burned. Even the dirt from underneath the old building has been dug up and replaced. It’s contoured now, compressed and leveled and rock solid. The rabbit warren of WWII bunker style tunnels that wound their way under the floors of the old building are no more. The new concrete slab isn’t cracked or peeling. It is solidly grounded to the earth below. These new steel bones feel like they could withstand a hurricane - or for that matter a fire. And should it ever come to that again God forbid, we’ll be equipped with the latest in fire suppression tools - a very modern and very expensive sprinkler system. Knock on wood.

In short, it feels like this new building that is emerging from the ashes is being built to last. And I like to think we’re bringing forward the best of the old spirits of the place, but anchoring and grounding their energies firmly to a new and solid foundation. I hope you can all swing by the TFB Garden and visit us soon and that you’ll be as excited as we are about the new space as it comes into view.

happy halloween,

murph, carissa, and the TFB crew

PS - I want to invite you all to get a jump on this year’s holiday gift giving. Our cookie tins are going to be lovely this year, and we’re offering a 10% discount on bulk purchases of ten - available now for pick up during the first week of December. These are perfect for business gifts or extended family. Each tin is packed in a box (ready to ship or give as a gift) and includes a printed Cookie Guide detailing each cookie flavor.

Gift giving in one swoop

Also available now are options to ship individual cookie tins - Ship a TFB Cookie Tin
Now shipping anywhere in the US