Fire shuts down San Francisco’s The Mill sourdough bakery temporarily

A fire before 2:30 a.m. on June 29 temporarily shut down The Mill at 736 Divisadero Street, knocking one of San Francisco’s best-known sourdough bakeries out of service and leaving its café-bakery operation dark. The San Francisco Fire Department responded at 2:28 a.m., kept the blaze from spreading to adjacent buildings, and later deemed the cause accidental. No one was injured or displaced, but the back of the business and part of the roof were affected.

The damage reached far beyond the walk-in counter. The Mill’s open production area in back is where Josey Baker Bread turns out sourdough along with a dense whole-grain loaf and other wheat and rye breads, and the closure interrupted wholesale production for restaurant and retail partners. That matters in a bakery built around daily rhythm: The Mill says the team includes 16 people, produces more than 450 loaves a day, and uses the same sourdough starter Josey Baker got from his friend George’s grandmother. When that line stops, so do the bread runs that keep wholesale accounts stocked and regular customers expecting their usual slices and toast.

The Mill posted on Instagram that everyone was safe but “in shock” and asked for support. Baker then launched a GoFundMe titled “Help The Mill Rebuild After Fire,” saying the business had been badly damaged and that the immediate need was cleanup, repairs and restoration. The fundraiser listed a $16,000 goal and had raised $3,743 from 28 donors when checked.

The shutdown hit a business with deep roots in the neighborhood and a long following. Josey Baker Bread says it started in Baker’s Mission apartment in summer 2010, while The Mill, a joint venture with Four Barrel Coffee, has drawn lines since opening in 2013, especially for its thick sourdough slices and toast. Its bread has also recently been ranked at the top in a blind tasting, a reminder of how much attention the bakery commands when it is open and how abruptly that routine can vanish when a fire cuts through the building.

The Mill now sits in a stretch of Divisadero Street that has seen more than one food-business fire this month, including the June 12 damage at Che Fico. Baker’s rebuild fund and the quick response from customers suggest the bakery’s closure is being measured not just in damaged roofline and cleanup bills, but in how fast a beloved sourdough operation can turn a disrupted back room back into a working bakery.