After recently opening a new flagship location in East Village, IZOLA Bakery is moving forward with previous plans to expand into City Heights, plus more locations.
Previously, What Now San Diego had reported on the tumultuous journey of IZOLA Bakery, from finding a new location after outgrowing its site in East Village to launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for an expansive new bakehouse in City Heights. The company, led by co-owners Jeffrey Brown and Jenny Chen, is considered one of the best bakeries in San Diego and was named the #1 in the United States by Yelp in 2022. The success led the team to recently open a new storefront at 1429 Island Ave.
The new 7,211-square-foot location next to Fault Line Park had a soft opening last month, featuring a 1,546-square-foot patio and all the delicious bread the company is known for. Now that this flagship location is getting its bearings in the community it started in, Brown and Chen are looking towards the future again, beginning with a previously announced location in City Heights. The company launched a crowdfunding campaign early last year with hopes of opening in early 2024. The new state-of-the-art, zero-emission factory, dubbed the City Heights Dough Factory, at Fairmount Avenue and Thorn Street is now expected to open in Spring 2026, according to Heleo, the architect for the new City Heights site.
“Situated in California’s vibrant City Heights neighborhood, the Izola Main Dough Factory and Eatery prioritizes industrial architecture, innovative design, sustainability, and community engagement,” according to Heleo’s website. “The project creatively repurposes existing structures, combining a single-story prefabricated metal building with a new addition to create an 11,129-square-foot space housing Izola Bakery’s headquarters, public dining areas, and training offices. The core and shell construction design ensures flexibility as needs evolve. Structural efficiency and sustainability are central, with pre-engineered steel construction facilitating efficiency and the facility set to operate with zero emissions, powered by renewable energy. The design maximizes daylight usage and features advanced technology to minimize environmental impact, including automated ingredient systems to reduce paper waste.”
Once operations, the new City Heights location will allows the company to increase its production 20x and gives them the opportunity to potentially launch wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, according to San Diego Magazine. Another opportunity from this expansion and increased production is the possibility of even more locations. Brown tells San Diego Magazine that they are looking at a new location in La Jolla, and hopes to eventually expand into North County, Orange County, and Los Angeles. It won’t be long before IZOLA is found throughout Southern California.
