Olde Hearth Bread Company Opens Ivanhoe Village Bakeshop With Historic San Francisco Starter

A sourdough starter with roots in San Francisco wine country is about to find a new home in Ivanhoe Village. Olde Hearth Bread Company, the Central Florida artisan bakery run by husband-and-wife team Shannon and Janice Talty, announced it will open a retail storefront at 1231 N. Orange Ave., taking over the former House of Sploot pet shop space next door to the soon-to-open Hyperbolic Brewing. Renovations are underway, with a mid-May opening expected once the work is complete.

The Ivanhoe location marks a return to retail for Olde Hearth after the bakery shuttered its East End Market stall in 2021 to concentrate on wholesale operations. Shannon framed the timing as a response to how dramatically Orlando's food culture has shifted. "Nobody in Orlando was making natural breads when we first opened 28 years ago," Shannon said. "There's a culinary scene now. People appreciate a crusty ciabatta or flaky danish. We're just making it easier for folks to get what they want."

At the center of the shop's identity is a starter with a genuinely storied pedigree. "Our sourdough starter came with me from San Francisco, where I first became a baker," Shannon said. "The starter was created with crushed grapes from Sonoma, and all these years later, a descendent of that wild yeast still flavors every sourdough loaf we bake." Every morning, fresh-baked goods will make the trip from Olde Hearth's main production facility in Casselberry to the Ivanhoe storefront. The lineup will include sourdough boules, sesame semolina bread, black olive batards, French baguettes, croissants, chocolate chip cookies, and raspberry tarts, alongside brewed coffee.

The Ivanhoe shop is also being positioned as something of a live test kitchen. The Taltys recently acquired a small-batch artisan mixer specifically for developing new recipes, and Janice sees the neighborhood as the ideal proving ground. "We can play around with ancient grain breads and seasonal pastry recipes, get some over-the-counter feedback, express our creative side and see what clicks with the neighborhood," she said.

For those who can't wait until mid-May, Olde Hearth products are already available at Whole Foods, Chamberlin's, local farmers' markets, and a licensed café at Orlando International Airport. An official opening date for the Ivanhoe location will be announced once renovations wrap. The last time Ivanhoe Village had a dedicated artisan bread and pastry counter, it was Backhaus Bakery, which closed in 2020. That gap has been felt. Olde Hearth, with nearly three decades of baking behind it and a living starter older than most of Orlando's current restaurant scene, seems built for the role.