The Bread Box Outlet to have grand opening in Federal Way

Like the bread they bake in the oven, LeeAnn Miller and her husband’s wholesale bakery business is also expanding -- to an outlet store.

Like the bread they bake in the oven, LeeAnn Miller and her husband’s wholesale bakery business is also expanding – to an outlet store.

Owners of a longtime Federal Way bakery, which produces The Bread Garden, Jasmine Bakery and Brenner Brothers product, will have their grand opening of The Bread Box Outlet on Thursday, Jan. 29.

The bakery outlet store will sell fresh, day old breads, pita, cookies and muffins. Among those breads are the famous Dave’s Killer Breads, based in Portland, Oregon, in addition to some festive choices.

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“We will have 12th Man blue and green hamburger and hot dog buns, cookies and cupcakes for your Super Bowl party,” Miller said, referring to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Blue and green snicker-doodles will also be available for sample, with the blue and green buns only available for three days.

Miller and her husband have been locally involved in the bread business for more than 30 years.

In 1984, Miller’s husband, his brother, father and another partner purchased Jasmine Bakery, which produced pita bread, in Federal Way. They expanded the business in 1993 and added another partner and bought The Bread Garden. In 2000, they bought out all of their partners except her husband’s brother and one year later they bought the 100-year-old company from Bellevue, Brenner Brothers. Since then, they’ve been the sole owners of the trio since 2013.

“It started really small with pita bread,” Miller recalled. “We had one large truck, did our own distribution and now we have over 25 items.”

Their bread is sold in Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC, Whole Foods, PCC, Marlene’s Market and Metropolitan Market, among other smaller independent grocery stores. It’s distributed by about 10 trucks, she said.

And, of course, they distribute to Dave’s Killer Breads, a business with more than 100,000 “BreadHeads” who follow them from as far as Australia and the United Kingdom.

Dave’s Killer Breads’s outlet stores have had much success, Miller said. That, coupled with the fact that Dave’s Killer Bread employees take the bread off the shelf after four days when it has an eight-day shelf life, led the couple to open their own outlet store.

“If it sells, we make a profit, if it doesn’t, we don’t take a loss,” Miller said, adding that they keep the excess bread from Dave’s Killer Breads.

The outlet store will sell local jams, syrups, honey and possibly mustard.

Maury Island Farms, located on Maury Island (an island connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus) will distribute the jam and syrups along with Anna’s Honey in Kent, and Miller is looking into adding Mustard and Co., a company based in Seattle.

“We’ve appreciated local support for our business and, in turn, we want to support local businesses,” Miller said, adding that she’s interested in maybe opening a booth at Federal Way’s local farmer’s market or supporting the annual 5K Apple Run in the future.

Patrons can also expect to see banana bread muffins and scones from Kent-based Pink’s Original Bakery at The Bread Box Outlet.

“All our bread is kosher,” Miller said. “We don’t make gluten-free but we hope to add that from another company.”

But they will sell a special low carb bread and Challah, an egg bread often used during Jewish holidays, as they are one of the main producers of Challah in Washington.

Miller said she, her husband, and her five children lived in Federal Way for 23 years before recently moving to the Auburn-Black Diamond area two years ago.

All of her children attended Panther Lake Elementary, Illahee Middle School and Todd Beamer High School, with her youngest still a senior.

The grand opening of The Bread Box Outlet will begin at 10 a.m. on Jan. 29 and will include two specials that will last for two weeks after the grand opening: two loaves of Dave’s Killer Bread for $5 and two loaves of The Bread Garden bread for $4.

The store’s hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The Bread Box is located at 33741 Ninth Ave. S. in Federal Way.

For more information, visit their Facebook page, “The Bread Box Outlet,” or call 253-838-6683.

The Bread Box Outlet is located in the Campus Business Center at 33741 Ninth Ave. S. in Federal Way. Raechel Dawson, the Mirror