Phebe Rossi and Amanda Bedell, co-owners of Nuflours. Photo by Jenny Kuglin / The Capitol Hill Times
Finding a good business partner can be just as hard, if not harder, than finding a good partner for love. In both searches there are online options, friends setting you up, and plenty of “dating” before anything is official. But for gluten-free bakers Amanda Bedell and Phebe Rossi, it was love at first business plan.
“How did you guys meet each other?” I asked the two women, as we sipped coffee at their new, homey, Capitol Hill bakery on a crisp October morning.
“Welllllllllllllllll,” they said in perfect unison, and then broke out into peals of laughter, their deep friendship both apparent and fun to be around.
“It’s kind of a funny story,” said Rossi.
“Yeah, Phebe and I met almost two years ago now,” said Bedell. “Phebe had already been in business for a year and I was on the way to starting mine. But when I did research into my vision, I realized it was bigger than me and I needed a partner. I started to do some outreach to the Gluten Free Girl, and doing posts online to the gluten-free group, but nobody was perfect yet. Then I had a mutual friend say, ‘Why don’t you check out Phebe and her business?’”
“All along I had wanted my business to be a partnership, but everyone I’d met just wasn’t a good fit,” said Rossi. “I’d basically given up when Amanda asked to meet me.”
Nuflours just opened its permanent storefront location in mid-October. Photo by Jenny Kuglin / The Capitol Hill Times
“I went to the first meeting with all of these rules,” continued Bedell. “‘You’re not gonna’ say this. You’re not gonna’ do that.’ And then I met her and just spilled out everything about myself and my vision.”
“I thought it was going to be just cocktails,” said Rossi. “But then five hours later, it was like we were reading other’s minds!”
“We always say we fell in love on the first date,” said Bedell, laughing. “It does happen! It really does! Who knew?”
This love, friendship, and mutual passion for gluten-free baking is apparent in everything about Nuflours. From the beautiful pastries to welcoming decorating, Bedell and Rossi have created an intimate and cozy space for people who just can’t have wheat in their diet.
“We both went gluten-free in 2007,” said Rossi. “I’ve always been into exercising and eating healthy, but I still felt really terrible. So I decided to clean out my diet. So I quit eating gluten, and it took me about three days to feel better. I’d had terrible skin problem almost my entire life and it cleared up.”
“I haven’t been diagnosed with Celiac, but I have the antibodies,” said Bedell. “I went to a naturopath and she said, ‘You have to get off wheat.’ And I ignored her for quite some time until the stomach aches and problems associated with it finally got me. I had to give up beer! That was the hardest thing. But now it’s fine. Totally fine.”
Nuflours started out with catering, wedding, and farmers markets, but they quickly outgrew their shared commercial kitchen.
“We have the enviable problem right now of having a hard time keeping up our supply with our demand,” said Rossi. “We can’t hire people fast enough because it takes six months to train a baker.”
The two knew they needed a storefront, but wanted to make sure it was the perfect fit.
Gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. Photo by Jenny Kuglin / The Capitol Hill Times
“For me, Capitol Hill was a must,” said Bedell. “I’ve lived on the Hill for 12 years and I love it. But I knew finding a spot here was going to be challenging because our other criteria was that we wanted to have a family-owned building. And the fact that we found this place? It’s freaky! This place came with every single thing we wanted.”
While their spot on 15th had everything they were looking for, it ended up being more challenging than they expected. The space has been a bakery since the building was built in the 1930’s, and it needed some serious renovation. To save money, Rossi and Bedell did much of the renovation work themselves.
“As far as we can tell, it’s never been shut down for very long, so there were just certain things that definitely needed to be changed,” said Rossi. “Some of the walls needed to be ripped out. And the day that Amanda and I cleaned the floor in the kitchen, we were like Cinderella down on the floor on her hands and knees. We had to chisel chunks off the floor because there was so much grease on it.”
“We spent more than 11 hours chiseling that floor,” said Bedell, shaking her head. “It was insane. I couldn’t walk the next day.”
But the building’s age and quirks have their upsides too.
“The really cool thing is that we were able to keep some of the original equipment,” said Rossi. “We have the original oven! We named her Phyliss. She’s from 1908 and they bought her used when they opened this place.”
And don’t worry, Phyliss isn’t just helping to bake gluten-free goodies, there are also vegan options, nut-free options, and even treats that don’t involve refined sugar.
“We have something for everyone,” said Rossi. “But don’t worry, it’s all going to taste really good. We won’t make it otherwise!”
Nuflours
518 15th Ave East
www.nuflours.com
Millionaire bars at Nuflours. Photo by Jenny Kuglin / The Capitol Hill Times
There are both sweet and savory baked creations at Nuflours. Photo by Jenny Kuglin / The Capitol Hill Times
