We moved to Walla Walla in late 2018 following the purchase of the Walla Walla Bread Company. We left behind our successful wholesale bakery, The Bakehouse 55, to start fresh in the small town of Walla Walla. We bring decades of experience and practiced hands to our corner on Main Street. Michele makes the bread and Coral makes the pastries, with a bit of crossover. We are there every single day, crafting the very breads and pastries that sell out faster than we can make them. We are incredibly thankful for the support we have, and for our team of Bread Company believers. The Walla Walla Valley has yet to see the best of what we can do. We never stop working, and we have a lot of exciting things coming!

WHO ARE THE POMPEIS?

Michele and Coral Pompei are artisanal bakers with broad experience in the food industry. At The Bakehouse 55, they have specialized in using sourdough techniques to create rich pastries, cakes, and other baked goods. Although they have focused on breakfast pastries and classic viennoiserie, their interests include a broad array of items that they hope to explore in the future.

Michele Pompei (pronounced Me-KEL-lay PomPAY)

Born in Italy and raised in South America, Michele speaks fluent Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and English. The pair’s distinctive approach to baking reflects his international experience as he introduces flavors and culinary ideas from all over the world.

Michele is an expert at creating laminated doughs that feature the layers of butter and dough that croissants are known for. During his 30 years of experience working as a pastry chef, owning a business, and teaching baking, he has studied under grand masters and world champion chefs throughout the world.

His work history includes serving as baking and pastry instructor of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Seattle, Miami, and Orlando, and pastry artist for the Ritz-Carlton.

Among his culinary distinctions are writing and executing menus for Savoring the America’s James Beard House Dinner for the James Beard Foundation in 2008 and serving as the lead pastry chef for Team USA in the 2016 Gelato World Cup in Rimini, Italy.

Coral Pompei

Coral claims a lifetime love of baking. While attending Willamette University, she worked as kitchen manager of the on-campus coffee shop, which fueled her interest in the food industry. After graduation, she moved to Florida where she received a certificate in European baking and pastry arts from the Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando, where she met Michele.

Coral has been responsible for dessert preparation at Walt Disney World’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort Bakery and has been lead pastry cook for Monsieur Paul in Les Chefs de France Epcot (a Paul Bocuse restaurant). She brings a versatile background in baking, fine dining, catering, and large-scale production.

While both are involved in the baking, Michele focuses on innovation, development, and finesse, and Coral oversees the daily production and general business operations.

Michele and Coral were married in 2015 and have a three-year-old son.

An Artisanal Passion

The husband-wife duo’s meticulous attention to every step of their baked goods has resulted in rave reviews and exploding demand for their products.

Committed to only the freshest ingredients, they plan to continue the Walla Walla Bread Company’s tradition of sourcing their food from local farmers. They will also introduce their line of sourdough-based products, which are made from starter they brought with them from Florida six years ago.

Michele says that every step of the baking process must be attended to with precision and utmost skill. “The croissants, for example, take between 48 and 72 hours to produce. The dough must be balanced according to the heat and humidity of the atmosphere. The butter must be laminated into the dough carefully, to maintain the integrity of each individual layer. Finally, each croissant is hand-rolled to achieve the perfect shape. It is a process!”

HOW DID THEY GET STARTED?

After meeting in Florida, Coral and Michele moved to the Northwest where the dream of owning their own business continued to simmer.

While holding down full-time jobs, they began baking together in the evenings and selling to local coffee houses that relished the uniqueness of their baked goods. Working 15-18 hours a day seven days a week, they eventually quit their jobs to launch the Redmond-based The Bakehouse 55. Orders rolled in—more than they could accommodate—and soon their baked goods were coveted by some of Seattle’s finest eateries and coffee shops and gaining press in magazines like Seattle Magazine and Seattle Refined.

“I worked through my entire pregnancy and was back to work three weeks after our son was born—bringing him with me to work,” says Coral. “It’s been an exciting and crazy journey—and a lot of hard work.”

WHY WALLA WALLA?

Walla Walla held appeal for the Pompeis on multiple levels. “We felt drawn to the slower pace of small-town life, the vibrant food scene, and the opportunity to step into the next phase of our dream,” says Michele.

Coral is no stranger to Walla Walla. Her parents and some of her grandparents attended Walla Walla University, her sister attended Whitman College, and her paternal grandfather, Cliff Sorensen, served as president of WWU during his career.

With her maternal grandparents being long-time residents here, Coral has known Walla Walla all her life through both regular visits and her family’s story. When the opportunity to run a restaurant here arose, the couple felt that the stars had aligned.

Coral and Michele had been planning to open a retail food space for some time, but it wasn’t until a chance breakfast at Walla Walla Bread Company that their dreams seemed to align with an opportunity. Intrigued by the “For Sale” sign at the restaurant, she asked to talk with the owner. Soon, a sale was in the works.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the future,” says Coral. “Walla Walla is exactly the kind of place we want to raise our son and to call home. We’re eager to contribute to this community and can’t wait to build on what the Walla Walla Bread Company has created.”