It all started with Winona.
“Everyone names their entree,” said pastry chef and Rye Goods owner Sara Lezama. “Ours is Winona Ryeright.”
The rye sourdough culture that was given to Lezama 22 years ago was already 15 years old when he received it. Winona Ryeder is the base of almost all the goods that come from Rye Goods.
“We’ve been feeding this, and it’s 100% rye, and that’s the base for almost everything,” Lezama said.
In addition to the good starter, Rye Goods mills all of its flours and sources from heirloom grains and wild yeast. The organic sourdough bakery “lives in the seasons” and uses fresh, seasonal, local fruits and vegetables in their baked goods that are sold alongside coffee and natural wine.
Freshly baked banana rye bread at the newly opened Rye Goods in Tustin.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
Rye Goods started in 2016, when Lezama was rebuilding his garage in Tustin and decided to add a few extra things to the structure.
“I had the idea that if we’re building this, maybe we can add a few things here and there,” he said. “And we ended up building this fully functioning professional kitchen.”
Lezama started making bread and pastries for catering concerts and selling wholesale to coffee shops until it became a full-time job.
“Our garage was too small for us. I think we got to 10 wholesale accounts, so we landed at Hood Kitchen,” she said.
The team had just set up shop at Costa Mesa’s Hood Kitchen Space, a commercial kitchen rental and event space, when the pandemic hit.
“We went from being 100% wholesalers to zero wholesale accounts in a weekend,” said Lezama. “Everything was shut down and all of our accounts called and said, ‘We don’t need anything.’”
Rye Goods had just come off a holiday season in which it had successfully sold cakes on a rudimentary website for the first time, so Lezama decided to put the site to use by selling bread online.
“We threw it and it went crazy, we had lines around the block,” Lezama said. “Especially during the holidays, no one was running and we were getting a lot of love.”
Sweet and savory croissant twists prepared at the newly opened Rye Goods in Tustin.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
For the first time, Lezama said the team also had the opportunity to interact directly with customers who were fans of Rye Goods bread and cakes.
“We had talked to people on Instagram who were picking up our stuff at coffee shops, but we got to meet everyone. For like two years, we built really great relationships with our direct customers for the first time.”
A year into the pandemic, Rye Goods opened a store at Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach, and those same enthusiastic customers came out to support it.
The Tustin location on Red Hill Avenue opened this month, but was initially envisioned as Rye Goods’ own commercially produced kitchen when Lezama and his team broke ground in 2019.
Pastry chef Kieran Tyler, center, works alongside the pastry team at the newly opened Rye Goods in Tustin.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
“Then we added this little storefront area, since customers said they didn’t want to go all the way to the peninsula and wanted something more central,” Lezama said. “And Tustin is where we started, so we felt like we had to do it here.”
A variety of breads are available from country to sesame to jalapeño cheddar along with brioche, bagels and baguettes. Patrons will also find seasonal treats like apple dumplings, sticky buns, and strawberry vanilla cream danish. A deli menu also offers sandwiches, pastas, soups, and cheese plates.
Rye Goods, Tustin ended up being the center of production as planned.
“We were working with about 600 square feet of kitchen space on Lido, and we soon got out of that. So we’ve all really been waiting for this,” Lezama said.
The Tustin location contains a bread room, baking room, deli, storage space, and a place to pack.
“It is three times bigger and everyone is very happy,” said Lezama.
And Rye Goods continues to grow, with a Laguna Beach location planned for the former Grove on Forest cafe space at the Lumberyard Mall on Forest Avenue.
Raw morning scones are made at the recently opened Rye Goods in Tustin.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
“It will be a showcase, but it will also be a complete wine bar,” Lezama said. “It will be the store that stays open later. We will make bread, but we will also make a small appetizer”.
In addition to preparing for the next location, Lezama said the team is preparing for the next big project: pre-orders for Christmas.
“We have always been like, it is the pandemic, take what you can,” Lezama said. “This year we have the team, the people and the creativity to make this festive menu our most fun Christmas menu yet.”
Owner Sara Lezama stands in the pastry kitchen Nov. 17 at the newly opened Rye Goods in Tustin.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)
Lezama said customers can look forward to festive cakes, pies and pastries.
“We are excited for December.”
Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.