Knead Me Bakery Brings Small-Batch Sourdough to Shenandoah After Years at Farmers Markets

Opening Shenandoah's newest dedicated sourdough bakery took eight years of weekend market shifts, a pandemic, and what co-founder Tony Tamayo describes as "the biggest leap of faith in our lifetime." Knead Me Bakery, the small-batch operation he runs with his wife Kristy, opened its permanent doors at 8920 Metropark Drive, Suite 800 on Halloween 2025, trading farmers market tents for the kind of corner-bakery presence Tony says people remember from small towns.

The Tamayos first brought their sourdough loaves and scratch pastries to the Courtyard Collective Farmers Market in 2017. Kristy credits market owner Jenny Lobel with giving them an early foothold, a relationship that helped them build the loyal repeat customers who eventually justified signing a lease. COVID interrupted that momentum, as it did for so many cottage bakers, but the demand proved durable enough that the couple ultimately left corporate careers and committed fully to the ovens.

At Knead Me, the small-batch philosophy is operational, not cosmetic. Keeping production deliberately modest protects the fermentation consistency that defines quality sourdough: a starter maintained on a predictable schedule, bulk fermentation that isn't rushed by commercial volume pressure, and loaves shaped by what the dough actually needs rather than a production quota. The same thinking extends to sourcing. Eggs and honey come from Triple J Farms; local jams round out the pantry. The menu centers on sourdough loaves alongside scones, muffins, and cookies, with rotating weekend specials Kristy and Tony plan to develop as the shop finds its rhythm.

The space itself continues the community ethos of the farmers market years. Local art and ceramics line the walls, turning the bakery into a small showcase for Shenandoah makers alongside the baked goods.

That eight-year arc from first market table to brick-and-mortar is a timeline anyone who has built a sourdough side project will recognize. The iterative work of Saturday stalls, the recipe adjustments, the customer conversations that sharpen your instincts: Knead Me Bakery is the proof that the path from passionate home baker to neighborhood institution is still very much open, one small batch at a time.