Our Story

Nearly 26 years ago, Larry Domnitz had the idea to open a neighborhood bakery in Boulder.  On Valentine’s Day 1995 Larry put his idea into action and BREADWORKS opened its doors as a retail artisan bread store.  At that time our store was a quarter of its current size and only sold bread, breakfast pastries, and coffee.  Every morning, seven days a week, 365 days a year, Larry came into the store by 3:00AM to bake the bread in our imported stone-hearth oven and to prepare for the store’s opening at 7:00 AM.  He then stayed and ran the business during the day. 

After word got out about the high quality of our bread restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores began to order them.  Larry embraced this opportunity and BREADWORKS grew into a wholesale business.  Bread production more than doubled from less than 1000lbs to well over 2000lbs per day in just a few years, demanding an expansion of the store in order to keep up with the growing business.  In 1999, Larry and his wife to be, Colleen Doran, doubled the size of the store, building a café, and adding a kitchen and a full pastry area.  Colleen, an accomplished four star chef, settled into the role of Executive Chef and created all the delicious recipes we use today, including a collection of more than 200 fresh soup recipes which we continue to make throughout the year. 

At the heart of BREADWORKS is a commitment to using only the freshest and highest quality ingredients.  All of the flour in our Bread and Pastry items is 100% certified organic and we use other organic ingredients whenever possible. The quality, freshness and consistency of our products is our primary concern.  Our Staff literally works around the clock to bring you the finest artisanal products and exceptional service.  Larry arrives at our bakery every morning to ensure the bread, the heart of BREADWORKS, remains as exceptional as it was when we first opened.

Management Team

Larry Domnitz

Owner/Operator

Colleen Doran

Executive Chef

Colleen began cooking professionally while studying architecture in college when she realized she had found her true passion.  Colleen decided to follow a different path than architecture, Food.  She pursued cooking in numerous famous restaurants in the Bay area such as Chez Panisse, The Herb Farm, Christopher’s, and the Dahlia Lounge while acquiring top-notch skills to match her culinary instinct.  In addition to gaining these new gastronomic skills, Colleen learned that it is the discipline you set for yourself that makes you a “stand out” chef.

Colleen’s study of architecture at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona taught her a lot about how to present food that appeals visually as well as to the senses of taste and smell, but attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. took her skill set to an even higher level of refinement.  Later Colleen taught at a cooking school in the North Beach section of San Francisco and has been the Executive Chef in restaurants in Seattle, Minnesota, and Colorado.  Colleen has also tested recipes for award winning cookbook authors and has designed commercial kitchens for several restaurant-consulting groups and  it is her love of great food and cooking that guides and inspires her. 

BREADWORKS’ Production Team

We operate three separate Production areas in the back of the house from early AM until late in the evening, seven days a week. Our talented Production Team is led by five leaders who have been part of the BREADWORKS’ team for a cumulative total of about 80 years which accounts for excellence and consistency of our baked goods and prepared foods.

Francisco Hernandez, Armando Ramirez, Maria Martinez, Federico Garza and Dusan Schneider go to great lengths to ensure that each day’s production is up to the standards that have garnered BREADWORKS the distinction of being named “The Best of Boulder” each of the past 20 years.

BREADWORKS’ Office and Front of the House Team is directed by

Maggie Vivas and Jenni Dorittie. These two extremely committed leaders make sure that our Retail Operation as well as the Back Office are both well-staffed and operated every day of the year, Holidays included.