Spread the Loaves expands to larger Helotes shop after local surge

Spread the Loaves is outgrowing the snug shop that helped turn a home-baking project into one of Helotes’ most watched bread destinations. The sourdough-focused bakery is moving into a larger space at 14743 Old Bandera Rd., Building 6, in The Shops at Old Town Helotes, just behind its original location, with the last day at the smaller shop set for May 30 and a reopening targeted for around June 11, pending permits.

That leap tracks back to Sophie Jeffery’s first loaves. She started baking as a New Year’s resolution in 2020, then ramped up production in 2021, making bigger batches to feed friends and neighbors in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri. What began as a practical kitchen habit turned into a home bakery, then market sales across the city, then a brick-and-mortar following strong enough to push the business beyond its original footprint.

Spread the Loaves now leans into exactly the kind of bread customers have been chasing. The bakery describes itself as a tiny, bread-focused shop specializing in sourdough-leavened breads, and its menu stretches well beyond the loaves and sourdough focaccia that built the name. On baking days, regulars can find milk bread, baguettes, challah and pretzels, along with sweets such as sugar cookies, brioche cinnamon rolls and toaster pastries. Local listings say popular items can start running out around 1 p.m., which has made the Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule feel less like a convenience and more like a timed run for the best picks.

The people behind the counter have expanded too. Jeffery and Justin Sparkman identify themselves as co-owners on the bakery’s story page, and Sparkman joined in 2024 after a career that included culinary education and food-and-beverage consulting. The larger shop should give the pair more room to work without losing the handmade feel that made the bakery a neighborhood fixture in Old Town Helotes, near The Cracked Mug Coffee House and Wine 101 Helotes.

The move comes with outside recognition as well. Jeffery was nominated in 2025 for San Antonio Tastemaker Award Pastry Chef of the Year, a nod to how far her loaves and pastries have traveled beyond the original home kitchen. The bigger space may change the scale, but the appeal stays the same: a bakery built on sourdough, local loyalty and a line that can still move through the door before lunch.