This past April, as wildflowers and springtime greenery were in full bloom all over the city, something else sprang up overnight in Austin’s Hyde Park neighborhood: A mysterious and colorful shed – sort of like a Little Free Library – but filled with still-hot, freshly-baked sourdough delights. On a little menu tacked to the front of the self-serve shed were items like jalapeno cheddar loaves, OG loaves, and cookies, followed by pricing and a simple Venmo barcode. At the top of the menu was a name: Stoya Bread Co.
“We started [Stoya Bread Co.] after we’d been dating for almost a year,” says Stoya co-founder Sydney Stewart. She and her partner, Nicolas Montoya are University of Texas students with a penchant for all things culinary. Stewart describes how they got into a rhythm of baking date nights at her apartment each Friday – a sweet tradition just for the two of them.
But when Stewart lost her job after Christmas, Montoya saw a silver lining and an opportunity.
“That’s when Nic built the shed, and ever since then it’s been full force forward,” says Stewart…