CAITIE BURKES
JULY 11, 2018
Bellegarde Bakery, a New Orleans-based wholesale bakery, is expanding into the Baton Rouge market, offering its artisanal breads at Cocha restaurant and select area grocery stores.
Named after Louisiana’s first bakery, the five-year-old brand is now selling fresh baguettes, country bread and other products to Calandro’s Supermarket on Perkins Road, Whole Foods in Towne Center at Cedar Lodge, Robert Fresh Market on Highland Road, and the new Rouses in Village Market.
For now, its only restaurant client is Cocha, a farm-to-table concept on North Sixth Street in downtown Baton Rouge.
“Their beliefs mirror ours,” says Molly Sciaccia, operations manager for Bellegarde, of the Cocha partnership. “They’re very conscious of the ingredients they use, and they use local products.”
The bakery already provides flour and bread to more than 100 restaurants and markets in Louisiana, including pita dough for Alon Shaya’s restaurant Saba and Justin Devillier’s La Petit Grocery, both in New Orleans.
The expansion has been in the works for about six months, Sciaccia says, adding the bakery has heard Baton Rouge is an “underserved” market for quality bread.
Bellegarde is unique in that it stone mills all whole grain flours in-house, she notes.
Though grocery stores comprise its usual clientele, Sciaccia notes Bellegarde is looking to add more Baton Rouge restaurants to its base.