Come Closer..

COME CLOSER...

I took a pretty circuitous path to opening a bakery.

In college, I studied civil engineering. Then I discovered I could make a career out of photography and was ready to quit school, with only one semester left, to chase my dream of working for National Geographic. My wise mother strongly advised against that plan. Thanks, Mom.

I finished the degree, then spent decades working as a photojournalist, director, and photographer before eventually finding my way to bread.

Most people look at a loaf of sourdough and see bread. The civil engineer in me sees clues throughout its structure, and I have a deep appreciation for the science and architecture behind a good loaf.

The raised ridge along the score is called the ear. Before the loaf goes into the oven, we make one deliberate cut across its surface. When the dough meets the intense heat, the steam inside pushes outward, the loaf expands, and the score opens to form the ear curling along the top.

That expansion is called oven spring, the loaf’s final burst of growth. It tells us a lot about everything that happened before the bread ever reached the oven: the health of the starter, the fermentation, the shaping, the tension built into the dough, and whether we caught it at just the right moment.

Turn the loaf and there’s more to see. The deeply caramelized crust. The tiny blisters created during its long, cold fermentation. The places where the dough stretched and opened as it baked.

That contrast between a sturdy, crackling crust and a tender interior is exactly what we’re chasing.

A loaf may look simple, but from every angle, it carries the story of all the time, judgment, and care that went into it.

And yes, I still get excited when one comes out looking like this.

We're open and serving sourdough hot from the oven every day from 7a-2p.

OPEN EVERY DAY 7a–2p

In a rush? Just give us a call at 619-289-8358 when you arrive and we'll bring your order out to ya - we call it IZOLA Drive By.

PRE-ORDER NOW

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VOTE FOR JENNY!

IZOLA Fam, my dearest Jenny has been nominated for San Diego Magazine’s 2026 Celebrating Women Awards. While this comes as no surprise to me, I'm super proud of her.

There would be no IZOLA without Jenny.

She’s the brains behind so much of what happens here, from leading our team of 37, to building partnerships with organizations like Kitchens for Good, Second Chance, and CEO that help create pathways to work and new beginnings, to building the systems that help us forecast, plane every bake, and know what we truly have available for guests throughout the day.

But that's only part of who she is.

She also dedicates her time to coaching, listening, helping people work through hard moments, and reminding them of what they’re capable of.

And she will never ask someone to do something she isn’t willing to do herself. She’ll be working through some wildly complicated operational problem one minute, then rolling up her sleeves and jumping in wherever she’s needed the next. Helping on the floor. Working through a new system at the bake bar. Or literally climbing into the dumpster to compress the recycling.

That’s Jenny.

Brilliant, tough, deeply caring, completely unafraid of hard work, and always thinking about how to make this place better for our guests and for the people who work here.

I get to see how much she gives to IZOLA every single day, and I would love for our community to help celebrate her.

Voting is open now and closes July 26. If Jenny or IZOLA has meant something to you, we’d be so grateful for your vote.

VOTE FOR JENNY

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SATURDAY LIVE MUSIC 

Every Saturday, we host live music at the bakeshop. Come on by to see how talented our local San Diego musicians are! Follow us on Instagram to see the lineup each week.

JOHN AND EILEEN SCHNARR

8-9a

John and Eileen have been married for 52 years and counting. Since 1981 John has written over 200 songs. Having both survived life threatening illnesses just months apart they have come out from under that experience, and joyfully embrace their current season for singing, which came with a soaring duet of Yes!

LEATEA

9-10a

Leatea (San Diego native Dylann Jelden) has been a musician all her life, beginning with classical violin at age 4. She began writing songs and incorporating guitar in high school. She performs regularly in San Diego.

KAILA SHAW

10-11a 

Kaila is a self-taught Singer-Songwriter and acoustic guitar player. For the past 10 years she has been sharing her talents and honing her craft at many types of venues and events around SoCal. Her music style is peaceful acoustic, upbeat covers and thoughtful original lyrics and melodies. She usually performs solo, putting her heart into every song and when performing she loves encouraging the audience to experience the music and interact.

MADELEINE MJELDE

11a-12p

Madeleine Mjelde is a songwriter and musician currently obsessing over her debut album, Etherlines. This project takes influences from the moments in life that cause time to stop, speed, or cease to exist entirely. With a mixture of folk, indie, and alt rock genres, Madeleine’s music seeks to inspire and restore us to a more beautiful vision of life.

SOPHIE LONDON

12-1p

Sophie London is an emerging artist bridging indie folk and pop rock. A native of the Boston suburb of Needham, Sophie was drawn to music as a child. Picking up the guitar at the age of 11, she soon began to write her own songs. Today she resides in San Diego, where she continues to craft music that captures the human experience – connection in all its various forms, with the hope to find the moments that resonate deeply with her audience. Her debut album, Mindreader, quickly gained local acclaim, earning a nomination for Best Pop Album at the San Diego Music Awards.