Uptown Bakers

Introduction / Overview

Uptown Bakers is a cornerstone of the Mid-Atlantic’s food service industry, operating as one of the region's finest specialty wholesale bakeries from its 40,000 square foot facility in Hyattsville, Maryland. Founded in 1990, the company has evolved from a combined retail and wholesale venture into a massive commercial operation that supplies over 500 restaurants, hotels, and caterers stretching from Delaware down to Richmond, Virginia. This means that if you’ve enjoyed a particularly memorable sandwich bun or a perfectly crusty baguette at a high-end restaurant in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. metro area, there is a very high probability that Uptown Bakers was the source.

The bakery’s reputation for excellence is directly tied to its commitment to old-world techniques and quality ingredients. At the helm is Master Baker and Vice President of Operations, Didier Rosada, a French-born artisan whose achievements include leading the Bread Bakers Guild Team USA to victory in the prestigious “Olympics of the baking world,” the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie. Under his direction, the team creates an extensive range of over 250 fresh artisan breads and pastries daily. This dedication to craft is exemplified by their use of time-honored traditions like hand-shaping each loaf, baking in stone deck ovens, and employing a slow, hours-long fermentation process. This slow process, utilizing various preferments (like naturally fermented Levain and Rye Levain), is crucial for strengthening the dough, adding complex flavor and aroma, and increasing the bread's shelf life naturally.

Uptown Bakers’ products are known for using only the highest quality, all-natural ingredients, such as Plugra European Style Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Barry Callebaut Chocolate, ensuring all items are 100% trans fat free. Their output is vast, producing over 40 different varieties of dough daily, from classic Baguettes and Boules to specialty sandwich rolls and fine pastries. The company also operates under its own retail-focused brand, Capital Baking Company, and the “Half Loaf Bread Co.” brand, making their high-quality artisanal breads accessible to local customers in grocery stores across the area.

While their primary model is wholesale delivery, Uptown Bakers does engage directly with the public, primarily through a consistent presence at various local Maryland farmer's markets, including the Baltimore Farmer's Market, Waverly Farmer's Market, Bowie Farmer's Market, College Park Farmer's Market, and North Beach Farmer's Market. This is how local users can access their products directly.

It is important to acknowledge the feedback provided by a delivery driver, despite the enthusiastic customer reviews on the final product quality. While a customer praised the "Totally amazing" brioche style buns and another lauded the "delicious treats" like their bagels, the delivery driver expressed dissatisfaction with the company’s labor practices, specifically citing unfulfilled promises regarding quarterly bonuses that were vital for his child’s medical expenses. This suggests that while the product quality for the consumer is exceptionally high and consistently praised, there may be internal challenges regarding employee relations and compensation that management needs to address to align their corporate responsibility with their reputation for excellence.

Location and Accessibility

Uptown Bakers is centrally located in Hyattsville, Maryland, at 5335 Kilmer Place, 20781. This location provides a strategic base for their extensive seven-day-a-week delivery network across the Mid-Atlantic region.

While the facility is a wholesale manufacturing hub and not a traditional retail storefront, the following accessibility and service options are provided:

• Service Option: Takeout is a listed service option, though direct retail purchases from the industrial facility should be confirmed in advance, as the primary business model is wholesale.
• Accessibility: The facility features a Wheelchair accessible entrance, ensuring smooth entry for all commercial visitors, partners, and employees.
• Accessibility: A Wheelchair accessible parking lot is also available for convenience.

Customers who wish to purchase their breads directly are best advised to visit the various Maryland farmer's markets where Uptown Bakers maintains a presence.

Services Offered

Uptown Bakers operates as a full-service bakery solutions partner, providing an extensive suite of offerings tailored primarily for the food service and retail sectors.

• Wholesale Baking and Distribution: Baking and delivering fresh artisan breads and pastries seven days a week, 365 days a year, to over 500 establishments from Delaware to Richmond.
• Extensive Product Menu: Producing over 250 varieties, including artisan breads (Baguettes, Boules, Ciabatta, Sourdough), sandwich buns (Brioche, Potato, Ciabatta), classic loaves (Rye, Whole Wheat, Semolina), and a wide range of Artisan Pastries (Croissants, Muffins, Scones, Danishes).
• Product Customization and Consultation: Offering expert consultation and the ability to customize menus with their diverse selection of breads and pastries to fit specific customer needs, as noted by clients like Clyde's Restaurant Group.
• Retail Brands Supply: Manufacturing products for retail sale under their Capital Baking Company and Half Loaf Bread Co.™ brands, which are sold in local grocery stores throughout the DC metro area and beyond.
• Direct Consumer Access: Selling products directly to the public at various local Maryland farmer's markets, including locations in Baltimore, Waverly, Bowie, College Park, and North Beach.
• Payment Options: Accepting Credit cards and Debit cards for commercial and direct transactions.

Features / Highlights

Uptown Bakers is distinguished by its award-winning leadership and unwavering dedication to traditional, high-quality baking methods, making them a premium supplier in the Mid-Atlantic.

• World-Class Master Baker: Led by Didier Rosada, a globally recognized Master Baker whose expertise in traditional French and European techniques, including success at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, ensures unparalleled product quality.
• Traditional Slow Fermentation: Utilizes multiple dough preferments, including various types of Levain (sourdough starters), to develop deep, complex flavors, superior texture, and natural preservation qualities.
• Highest Quality Ingredients: Commitment to excellence using premium, all-natural components like European-style butter and high-quality chocolate, with all products guaranteed 100% trans fat free.
• SQF Food Safety Standards: Operates with the highest level of SQF (Safe Quality Food) standards, guided by an in-house Quality Assurance team, ensuring the safety and consistency of all products supplied to major food service clients.
• Hand-Shaped and Stone Deck Baking: Adheres to artisan practices, hand-shaping each loaf and baking in stone deck ovens for an authentic crust and interior structure.
• Reliable 7-Day-a-Week Delivery: Offers a flexible delivery schedule and fresh product delivery seven days a week to clients, providing exceptional reliability that is critical for the restaurant and hotel industry.

Contact Information

For commercial inquiries, partnership requests, or general contact with the Hyattsville facility, please use the following information:

Address: 5335 Kilmer Pl, Hyattsville, MD 20781, USA

Phone: (301) 864-1500

What is Worth Choosing

For Maryland businesses, from a small boutique cafe to a large hotel chain, Uptown Bakers is worth choosing because they offer a rare combination of artisan excellence at a commercial scale. The products consistently receive accolades, whether from customers raving about the bagels at a local spot like Ted's Bulletin or praising the "totally amazing" brioche buns at a Virginia restaurant. This quality is a direct result of the expertise of Master Baker Didier Rosada and the adherence to slow, traditional baking processes that many commercial operations bypass. By choosing Uptown Bakers, a business is not just acquiring bread, but acquiring a premium, trans-fat-free, world-class product that elevates the entire menu. The guarantee of seven-day-a-week fresh delivery from a local Hyattsville facility ensures unparalleled freshness and supply chain reliability across the region.

For the local consumer in Maryland, choosing Uptown Bakers products—either through a favorite restaurant or directly at one of the numerous local farmer’s markets—is a choice for supporting local production while enjoying genuinely high-quality, old-world bread and pastries. It is important for consumers to recognize that supporting a local company also comes with the knowledge of their broader operations. While the end product is superb, the reviews highlight a serious concern regarding the company's management of employee compensation and bonuses. Customers and partners value both ethical business practices and product quality. Prospective and current partners should be aware of this employee feedback as they evaluate the full scope of the business, encouraging the company to uphold the same high standards of integrity in its internal operations as it does in its renowned baked goods. Ultimately, the consistent taste and texture of their products, which is "always consistent, fresh and high quality" according to commercial customers, remains the key reason why Uptown Bakers is a top choice throughout the Mid-Atlantic.

Uptown Bakers

5335 Kilmer Pl, Hyattsville, MD 20781, USA