Meet Kristen Richards-Sollenberger | Baker & Bakery Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen Richards-Sollenberger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Ever since I had the idea that baking could be my career, I also had the dream of one day owning my own business. For about five or six years after graduating from culinary school that thought had slipped my mind. I was focused on the visions of other business owners and how to help their vision succeed. I was more focused on gaining experience and the role I played in their dream. It took me reaching a point of feeling totally creatively burnt out to realize the change I needed to make and give working for myself a go. So my thought process really came from a place of needing to heal myself and find out what inspired me when it came to baking again. I knew I wanted to start out quite small and maintain a low budget to get going. I had the initial thought that I would focus on farmers markets that way I could maintain a job elsewhere during the week and have time to reconnect with my desire to bake and what that looked like for me.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At the core of my business is the use of local grains and ingredients. We are located in Lancaster County, just 10 minutes outside of downtown lancaster in the borough of Millersville. Lancaster is know for it’s farmland and we are beyond fortunate to be surrounded with the bounty the land here has to offer. I became pretty inspired with whole grain baking back in 2018 so as I began to conceptualize Front Porch, I knew I would dive deeper into utilizing whole grains in all of our baking to provide a flavor backbone to our recipes. Because we live in such a special area we are able to source all of our seasonal produce right here and also use local dairy products, really whatever we can get our hands on from local farms. We specialize in making naturally leavened breads and european inspired pastries. I grew up baking with my German grandmother so bread was always a part of the picture along with any sweets that had more depth to them than just tasting like sugar. She is the reason behind why I bake anything at all. I was able to witness her keep a sourdough starter, go to her local mill, drop by a roadside stand for fruits, etc. all of those memories have impacted how I bake. It was important to me to carve out a space within the community where we could provide for the neighborhood and give folks access to freshly baked bread and pastries four days a week. The whole journey has been very special to me. I first opened for business in October of 2020 in a indoor marketplace and within six months made the jump to a retail storefront space, really because I had no other choice. The marketplace I was operating and baking out of was about to close down and I had momentum and a customer base established that I didn’t want to lose. I ended up finding an ideal space in Millersville and jumped head first into the opportunity! April 2023 will be two years we have been open in Millersville and I couldn’t be happier with how things worked out for me. My husband and I even have the benefit of working together now at the bakery. We have a couple of wonderful employees and our customers are truly the most supportive. While owning a business is no small feat, it really has felt like how I hoped it would if I ever got the chance.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh wow! There are so many wonderful spots here in Lancaster! Most places I spend my time at involve food in some way!

I would definitely want to take them to brunch at On Orange on a Sunday morning. Monday we would walk to a local coffee shop, like Square One Coffee and later in the evening head to Zoetropolis for detroit style pizzas or any specials they may have – probably even catch a movie there too!
Tuesday we would have to go Central Market in the morning and then the Horse Inn for dinner, my favorite dish has always been their shrimp and grits.
Wednesday we would spend the day checking out some hiking trails through The Lancaster Conservancy and then grab beers and killer hot dogs at The Fridge
Thursday we would run to Lemon Street Market and Mandro’s to grab some specialty products to do some cooking at home before we went downtown to walk around and shop a bit. It’d be hard not to drop by Sprout for bahn-mi’s or Cocina Mexicana for tacos!
Friday would be the perfect time to visit our favorite sushi spot – Yuzu asian cuisine for lunch before heading to John J Jefferies for dinner – the first farm to table restaurant that truly never misses!
Saturday would be a drive to Pine View Dairy for ice cream and to see baby cows before heading the complete other direction grab the very best arepas from Chella’s.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I attended a conference in Maine back in 2019 called The Kneading Conference. My friend Jacqueline Eng (owner of Partybus Bakeshop) convinced me I needed to attend this event and I am forever grateful to her for encouraging me to do so. It was a huge pivoting point for me in my Life and helped me realize the path I not only needed, but wanted to head down moving forward baking for a living. I was able to spend a couple of days immersed in a baking/brewing/grain focused environment surrounded by other bakers from all over the country. This conference opened my eyes to how connected all of these folks were with their craft and how they were able to meld their lives with baking being a constant piece of the puzzle.

Website: https://frontporchbakingco.com

Instagram: @frontporchbakingco

Facebook: www.facebook.com/frontporchbakingco

Image Credits
Julianna Elizabeth Photography