Rock Hill Consulting

After Mrs. London's first incarnation on a side-street in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. from 1977 to 1985, Wendy and I co-founded Rock Hill Bakehouse from our farmhouse kitchen in Greenwich, NY. For seven years from our kitchen (four hours from Manhattan), we baked bread for restaurants like Aureole, Lespinasse. Arcadia, Lutèce and Le Bernardin, among others, as well as for food emporiums like Balducci's and Dean & Deluca.

Many people over many years have asked us to move to their home town and until 1991 I said that while I had a proofing cabinet I didn't as yet own a cloning closet. The idea of franchising never appealed to us and the notion of having cookie-cut operations across the country was unpalatable, and still seems unworkable.

Spreading The Bread Around
Nevertheless, as a sort of Johnny Breadseed I sought a way to spread the bread around, so to speak. So when Lou Statzer from Washington, D.C. approached me and asked whether I would assist him in developing a bread program for a bakery he envisioned on Connecticut Avenue, a few blocks from the National Zoo, I agreed. Uptown Bakers soon became the toast of the town and today, nine years later, it's the most successful bakery in, as Lou insists on announcing when he leaves a phone message, "our nation's capitol." And my oldest son Joshua, is Production Manager.

Provides Start-up, Ongoing Training And More
Rock Hill Consulting provides start-up and ongoing training, recipes, know-how, techniques and the starter-culture from which our breads are developed. In exchange, we receive a start-up fee, a percentage of gross sales of the licensed breads or pastries, and an annual renewal fee.

Our Program Lets You Be What You Want To Be
The attraction of our program is that you can be a bakery, a delicatessen, a restaurant, café or whatever it is you envision for your own business. And it's your business to grow as you see fit. We just ask that you do justice to our breads and pastries.

We've averaged about a licensee a year and that's about how we like it. We're not looking for one night stands but long-term relationships. And our licensees are remarkably diversified, from the New Pioneer Co-op in Iowa City, Iowa to the internationally renowned Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bread & Co. in Nashville, Klinger's in Burlington, Vermont, Empire in Dallas and Houston, Metropolitan in Charlotte, Sage in Santa Fe and Uptown Bakehouse in Bloomington, Indiana, are our licensees.

For more information on Rock Hill Consulting, please e-mail us or write to Michael London c/o Mrs. London's, 464 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY  12866.