Hey Brother Baker has long been Long Beach’s most underrated bake shop. Unlike those birthed out of the pandemic, owner Jesse Hellen-Lloyd and wife Christina Wilson—like the other colossal baking staples of Long Beach, Colossus and Gusto—have been churning out baked goods out of their garage since 2016. (And yes, they still do.)
Their client roster runs so deep that many of their first contracts were for places that no longer exist: Restauration (now Due Fiori), Scratch Bakery (now Speak Cheezy), Berlin Bistro (now Right Mealz)… And now, Jesse is aiming for a summer opening of his brick-and-mortar, a years-long endeavor that will introduce to him to a whole new patronage while formally cementing his place in what is unquestionably a bread and baking renaissance here in Long Beach.
How did Hey Brother Baker come to be?
Jesse and his wife Christina birthed Hey Brother out of their garage as a hobby back in 2016. With a brother working at Outerlands, the famed San Francisco eatery that garnered a name for its farm-centric offerings and famed house sourdough, Jesse was beyond impressed. Like many in his generation, returning to the base knowledge on how to make certain foods was already embedded in his soul. He had experimented with beer. Cheese. Pickles. And bread offered an outright dream for someone who was a musical engineer: It requires a shit-ton of precision with definitively artistic slant.
Buying books and teaching himself through trial and error, Hey Brother Baker’s garage space scored a walk-in freezer and three stacked Rofco ovens. And eventually joined by head baker Michael Simenson and helper Jojo Chu.
Harnessing the power of the Euro- and American-centric baking traditions, Jesse began churning out far more than sourdough loaves. Croissants. Pain au chocolat. Cookies, from oatmeal to sweet corn. Financiers. Olive loaves. Banana pineapple chocolate bread… And if one thinks this endeavor is for the weak-hearted, think again.
“I run the day shift, Christina runs the graveyard,” Jesse said, rather casually. “It’s an all-day, all-night production. We occassionally get to see each other on Sunday evenings—and before you ask if we have children, this is our kid,” he said, laughing.
What to expect from the Hey Brother Baker brick-and-mortar.
With their success, Hey Brother Baker now serves Oh La Vache on 4th Street. Chef Philip Pretty’s Michelin-starred Heritage as well as his newest endeavor, Olive & Rose (catch their brioche for one of the best burgers in the city that’s offered on their lunch menu). Alder & Sage. Liv’s in Belmont Shore. Occasionally Buvons…
In reality, it is pretty wild that Jesse and his crew are still baking out of his garage. If anything, it is a testament to the resilience and work ethic of Millennials. And the deep desire—across most of the generation’s inability to own homes or find truly stable labor in a single industry—to own something of their own. Hence, the much-needed space on Anaheim.
The massive space will allow Jesse to refocus back on wholesale—he has taken a rightful step back from new wholesale orders—while possibly moving onto heartier offerings like sandwiches. Until then, the focus will be simple: Hey Brother’s stellar array of breads and pastries while serving up caffeinated concoctions using beans from Seven Syllable Coffee out of Cerritos.
“I really want a space to serve the people are already serving while also bringing in a whole new crowd in to see what we’re about,” Jesse said. “It’s been one helluva project—something I am unsure I ever want to go through again—but I really hope people have a feel that this is for Long Beach.”
Long Beach is in a bread and baking renaissance.
If anyone questions the bread and baking renaisssances happening in the city—despite the closure of the long-loved Babette’s—here are some of the stellar places Hey Brother Baker will be joining:
- Colossus in Belmont Shore might have been through some city permitting stumbles that disappointed patrons and fellow food lovers alike, but Chef Kristin Colazas Rodriguez is doing just fine, having opened a yet another location in San Pedro.
- Nonna Mercato, Chef Cameron Slaugh’s Italian-meets-French concept in Bixby Knolls, has some of the city’s best baked goods. If you haven’t had their country loaf that is used for their sister space’s French toast at The Attic you must.
- Ammatoli in Downtown Long Beach isn’t just one of the best restaurants. Its dessert program from Chef Massah Habibeh boasts of perfected carrot cake, olive oil lemon cake, date cookies, baklawa, and more.
- Long Beach’s Gusto bakery, the Latin American-centric space that overtly overthrows Eurocentric ideals when it comes to baked goods, is one of the defining parts of our baking scene. Even more, it officially became a finalist for Outstanding Bakery at the James Beard awards—for the second time. After nabbing a nod and eventually making it into the finalist category in the 2024 process, the bakery is once again up for a potential medal at this year’s 2025 awards.
Hey Brother Baker will be located at 3929 E. Anaheim St.
