Our Story at Arizona Bread Company

At Arizona Bread Company, we started with a simple belief: bread should taste like bread, not like a chemistry experiment. Back in 1994, we opened as a small local bakery with a mission to give Scottsdale a real scratch-made alternative to the chemical preservatives, artificial additives, and dough conditioners that had taken over commercial bread. From the beginning, we wanted every loaf, bun, and roll to feel honest, fresh, and deeply satisfying. More than 31 years later, that same purpose still guides us, whether we are serving café guests at lunch or fulfilling large wholesale orders across the Phoenix Metro Area.

How Our Bakery Began

Our story started in 1994, when we saw a clear gap in the market. Too much bread had become overly processed, overly preserved, and disconnected from the craft that makes baking special in the first place. We believed people deserved something better. We believed local families, restaurants, and businesses should be able to enjoy bread made the old-fashioned way, from scratch, with real ingredients and real care.

Read More About How We Began →

So we opened Arizona Bread Company as a small neighborhood retail bakery. In those early days, our focus was simple. Bake fresh every day. Stay true to our methods. Serve people the kind of bread we would proudly bring to our own table. That approach connected with people quickly, and the response was stronger than we ever expected.

As word spread, local restaurants, luxury resorts, and specialty delis began reaching out. They wanted the same quality we were serving in our bakery. That demand naturally pushed us to grow into a major regional wholesale distributor, but we never wanted growth to pull us away from who we were. That is why we kept our retail café doors open and stayed committed to the same standards that built our name in the first place.

Contact Us for Bread Orders

Why We Still Bake the Way We Do

For us, baking clean-label bread is not a trend. It is the foundation of everything we do. We were founded to eliminate the artificial shortcuts that dominate so much of the bread world. That means no chemical preservatives, no artificial bases, and no dough conditioners hiding behind complicated labels. It also means we have spent decades protecting our methods, even when the commercial industry kept pushing toward cheaper, faster, more artificial solutions.

Read More How We Bake →

That has not always been the easiest path. There has been constant pressure over the years to cut corners, extend shelf life with stabilizers, or adopt the frozen and par-baked systems that larger suppliers rely on. We chose not to go that direction. We stayed committed to scratch-baking because we believe our customers can taste the difference, and because we believe food should be made with integrity.

Every loaf, bun, and roll we produce is hearth-baked daily from scratch, 100 percent vegan, and naturally leavened using our prized 76-year-old levain family starter. That starter is not just an ingredient to us. It is part of our identity. It connects every batch to a longer tradition of patient, careful baking that values flavor, texture, and time.

Call Now & Place Your Order

Bread

From Small Bakery to Trusted Wholesale Partner

One of the most meaningful parts of our journey has been watching a local retail bakery grow into something much larger without losing its soul. What began as a neighborhood bakery eventually became a trusted wholesale partner for boutique eateries, country clubs, luxury hotels, farmers’ markets, and a wide range of foodservice clients. We learned how to scale while holding onto our standards, which is not always easy in high-volume baking. But to us, the challenge was worth it.

Learn More →

We knew our wholesale partners were not just ordering bread. They were trusting us with part of their guest experience. Their diners, members, and customers would be tasting our work, and that responsibility still matters to us every single day. That is why we bring small-batch retail quality straight into high-volume commercial orders. We never want our wholesale bread to feel like a lesser version of what we would serve across our own counter.

Our kitchen team and bakers take that seriously. It is common here for people to step forward and double-check large commercial orders because precision matters. We know one missing item or one incorrect detail can create stress for a restaurant or event team, and we work hard to get it right.

Bread

What Makes Arizona Bread Company Different

There are plenty of large bread suppliers out there, but our approach has always been very different. We do not rely on frozen storage. We do not use par-baked shortcuts. We do not sacrifice ingredient integrity for convenience. Instead, we start early, often before dawn, and bake fresh every day. That rhythm is part of who we are. It is demanding, but it is also what allows us to deliver the aroma, texture, and flavor that only true scratch-baking can create.

Learn More →

We’re also proud to offer a diverse daily menu of scratch-made gluten-free options, alongside our preservative-free and chemical-free core lineup. That matters to us because we want more people to be able to enjoy food that feels thoughtful, generous, and genuinely handmade.

Another thing that sets us apart is our portioning. We believe in abundance. We like generous, oversized portions for both retail guests and wholesale partners because we want our food to feel satisfying and memorable. When people sit down for lunch in our café or unwrap bread from one of our commercial partners, we want the experience to feel substantial in every sense.

The Family Behind the Bakery

Arizona Bread Company is led by Jeff Benkel and Amy Wakser, a brother-and-sister ownership team that has spent more than 31 years preserving the bakery’s independent family heritage. Their role goes far beyond simply owning the business. They are personally involved in operations and deeply committed to making sure every retail guest and wholesale partner gets the uncompromising quality this bakery was founded on.

Learn More About Arizona Bread Co. →

That family-first approach shapes our culture in a real way. We are a tight-knit team of artisanal scratch-bakers who respect the patience and discipline that traditional baking requires. We look for people who are reliable, hardworking, and welcoming. Skill matters, of course, but so does attitude. We want people who understand that baking is both craft and service. The work has to be excellent, and the experience around it should feel warm and human.

That balance matters a lot to us. We can take our standards seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We believe a bakery should feel alive, generous, and welcoming. People should walk in, smell the fresh baking, and immediately feel like they are in the right place.

The Community That Keeps Us Going

One of the greatest privileges of our work has been earning the loyalty of generations of local families while also building strong relationships with business partners across the region. We serve all kinds of customers. Some are families stopping in for a meal or picking up bread for the table. Some are corporate lunch crowds looking for something fresh and satisfying. Others are chefs, hospitality teams, and foodservice operators who count on us to help them deliver a better experience to their own guests.

Read More →

That trust means everything to us. Over the years, we have been honored with multiple Phoenix New Times awards, more than 1,500 5-star Uber Eats reviews, and the opportunity to serve as active weekly vendors at the Downtown Phoenix and Old Town Scottsdale Farmers’ Markets. Those recognitions matter, but what matters even more is the fact that people keep coming back. They recommend us because our bread is consistent, our quality is real, and our independent family legacy shows up in every batch. Fresh bread simply hits different when it is made with care, and our customers know it.

What Customers Can Expect From Us

When people interact with us for the first time, whether in our café or through our wholesale program, we want them to feel real neighborhood hospitality right away.

Read More →

That means clear guidance, direct communication, and no corporate runaround. If a restaurant has custom bulk needs, we provide personalized support. If a family has questions at the café counter, we take the time to answer them. If there is ever an order issue or a delivery discrepancy, our family management team addresses it directly and works to make it right immediately. We have never wanted Arizona Bread Company to feel faceless or automated. We want it to feel personal, because that is exactly what it is.

Frequently Asked Questions


We bake from scratch daily using clean-label ingredients, with no chemical preservatives, artificial additives, frozen storage, or par-baked shortcuts.


We were founded in 1994 and have proudly served the local community and regional wholesale partners for more than 31 years.


Yes. Every loaf, bun, and roll we make is 100 percent vegan and naturally leavened with our 76-year-old levain family starter.


Yes. We prepare a diverse daily menu of scratch-made gluten-free options alongside our regular bakery offerings.


Yes. We supply restaurants, luxury hotels, country clubs, delis, and other food service partners across the Phoenix Metro Area.


Yes. We provide direct, personalized support for custom bulk restaurant and commercial orders.


You can expect warm hospitality, fresh baking aromas, generous portions, and straightforward help choosing from our menu.


Our family management team addresses feedback or discrepancies directly and works quickly to make things right.

Why We Still Believe in Doing It the Hard Way

At Arizona Bread Company, we have spent more than three decades proving that scratch-baked, preservative-free bread still matters. We’re proud to serve families at our café, support restaurant partners across the region, and protect the clean-label methods that inspired this bakery in the first place. Every early morning, every carefully baked batch, and every order we fulfill reflects the same commitment we started with in 1994. So stop by our café at 7000 E Shea Blvd for lunch, or call our wholesale hotline at 602-348-4285 to experience the difference for yourself.

Contact Us Today