House Of Bread Bakery and Cafe — Restaurant in Reno

They have the second best bread I've eaten. That normally deserves 5 stars but read on. They are in Reno & I am in the San Francisco Bay Area. 4 hours apart. I liked their bread so much that I made an arrangement with their stellar manager Sabrina to have 6 loaves shipped UPS to me about every 2 months. I'd supply the box & paid by credit card. I also visited their bakery annually to buy but most of my purchases were by UPS. I was a customer for years.

Sabrina left 3 times. I don't know why. A male who's name I won't mention took her place each time. He did so-so. I was always thankful when Sabrina returned. She did it right.

Then last fall I phoned to reorder. The male manager asked "Didn't you get my email?". Of course I didn't get the email. He was not competent or maybe truthful. He had never sent it. Anyway, he said that they were too busy to ship me 6 loaves bi-monthly. Translation: he was too lazy. So my son was going to visit Reno last weekend. I asked him to pick up some bread for me. I then phoned the store. I asked for the male manager. They have a card system that you get a free loaf if you buy so many. He hadn't marked my card.

I spoke with the new owner who said that the former manager wasn't there anymore. That probably was a wise move. But the new owner didn't want to give me credit (marks on the punch card) that I was due. I decided to accept it & have my son just buy the bread on their shelf. My son phoned in advance but they still didn't have enough bread so he only came home with 4 loaves.

So...the bread is good. I had some for lunch today. The ethics & service are poor. It's ok for people who just walk in...if they have the bread on hand. My son arrived in the morning but they still didn't have enough bread. They also wouldn't save it for him to arrive as he phoned in advance. He even offered to give a credit card number. Which is why I didn't try to pre-arrange the bread purchase days in advance. I knew they wouldn't cooperate.

There is much more but this is long enough. The only better bread is in McMinnville, OR. I will stop in or send my son again if in Reno. I won't try to deal with them on the phone. Bread = 5 stars. Attitude = 1 star. That's how they got 3 stars. Which is more than...

Why must people change things when things are already perfect. I've been going to house of bread since I first moved here 4 years ago. Susan was always working the front counter and she was great. Very knowledgeable about the products. I'm a weekly buyer and all of a sudden she was gone. I think she worked there for like 10+years and maybe 17 but don’t know exactly.

Fast forward and a someone new purchased the shop. Like a lot of other reviews on here state the employees are always new. I have a suspicion that the new owners are not paying enough money hourly to keep quality employees. Anyway on to the bread. Over the last year I have noticed that when I take a slice of bread out it falls apart. Almost like there is too much air in the product and it can't stay together. (Look at photos) it is such a shame when a new owner comes in and screws things up. Please go back to the old recipe. I'm once again in search of a new bakery that puts pride and product in front of making the money.

Update: I just returned to the store and the girls behind the counter were nice and exchanged the loaf and I saw the same thing. I was told "they are adjusting the recipe" which means they are trying to fix something that wasn't broken. I didn't ask for my money back and I left a fully stamped bread card on the counter and told them I'd never be back. The hunt for new bread is on.

I’m really saddened about this. The bread at this place used to be so good that I would purchase multiple loaves to take to family in other states....

This was my first visit to this cute Bakery. They had so many options for a morning snack that my daughter and I didn't know what to get. We asked jokingly if they had a sample platter. The extremely helpful and most positively happy lady working the counter offered us samples of pumpkin bread and herb bread, the pumpkin was so soft and had nice pumpkin and spice flavors, I declined the herb bread as I feared I would fill up on samples. We kept looking and my daughter found her Nutella cinnamon roll, I opted for a breakfast sandwich on jalapeño cheese bread. But, before we got our orders we were talking with both ladies that were working and they insisted I try the fresh sourdough bread. Now, if you are looking for a store bought flavor you are in the wrong place. This bread was soft and so obviously freshly baked and absolutely delicious. My sandwich was huge and also delicious. We loved this experience. Not only was everything we tried amazing so were the lovely ladies that worked there. They were so upbeat and exuded positive energy. They were informative and attentive to everyone in the store. Outstanding customer service, that's something you don't see a lot these days. And outstanding products. 10 out of 10!...