James Beard chef’s Threefold Bakery draws crowds with sourdough loaves

More than 20 people were already lined up on a Sunday morning at Threefold Bakery, where stacks of croissants, scones, frosted cinnamon rolls and golden sourdough loaves sat behind the counter while more dough was being rolled, folded and baked in full view. The scene in Breckenridge was less neighborhood café, more destination bakery, with the open kitchen doing as much selling as the pastry case.

Behind it is Matt Vawter, the James Beard Award-winning chef whose Breckenridge restaurants Rootstalk and Radicato helped establish his name in Summit County. Threefold reads like the next step in that run, but with a more approachable aim. Vawter has said he wanted a bakery that could fit into people’s daily lives in Summit County and serve locals and visitors in a casual, accessible way, especially compared with his fine-dining restaurants.

Threefold opened on Sunday, December 28, 2025, at 100 N. Main St. in the former Mom’s Baking Company space. The 22-seat bakery operates daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and centers on a steam-injected bread oven that gives the room a real bakery rhythm, not just a pastry counter. The menu includes long-fermented sourdough made with freshly milled Colorado grains, plus French pastries, breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, beer, wine, cocktails and Huckleberry Roasters espresso.

The partnership also gives the place serious bread-world credibility. Sean and Melissa McGaughey, who own Quail & Condor and Troubadour Bread & Bistro in Healdsburg, California, are part of the team. Quail & Condor was named one of the best bakeries in the country by The New York Times, and Troubadour Bread & Bistro was recognized by Michelin in 2023. Vawter and Sean McGaughey first worked together more than 20 years ago at the Cellar in Breckenridge, then reunited on the opening team at Mercantile Dining & Provision in Denver.

For sourdough bakers, the appeal is in the theater and the timing. Threefold is showing how visible fermentation, limited fresh loaves and a sharp daytime service window create demand before a customer even bites into the bread. The name fits that idea twice over, for the trio of partners and the tri-folding technique behind croissant dough. In Breckenridge, that mix of craft, scarcity and front-of-house visibility has already turned a new bakery into part of the daily food routine.