Wildwood Farms

Wildwood II has been on my mind since we were still in operation at 1976 Garnet Ave. – with dreams of a bigger bakery, larger ovens, a second location – you name it. But closing up shop in December 2024 allowed me to take a deep breath and remember why it is I cared about food at all – to be closer to the land, learn to steward it, and with that knowledge, be able to feed others.

I like to think I grew up in the kitchen, watching others cook while sneaking coffee and drenching strawberries in sugar. Outside the kitchen, I spent countless hours on the boat with my brother and father – fishing, fileting, and preparing seafood for a revolving door of guests. I catered my first large party of about 50 adults when I was merely 11 years old. After teaching myself to sew and starting a clothing business in  high school, I attended UC Berkeley where I played four years of college athletics while designing a major based on regenerative agriculture and food culture in America. I raised eight chickens outside my apartment building, got a dog, and prepared large dinners for friends when I had the chance. After school, with a summer of retail jobs and dishwashing under my belt, I moved to southern Baja, bought thirteen more chickens, started a small garden and community composting program, and began cooking once again. 

While in Mexico, I worked catering private events and helped open a few cafés in town, but was mostly having fun and not taking anything too seriously. My fondest memories are of spending days on end camping at a friend's property - tending fire through the night, fueling cooking pits, and preparing endless meals with good music and drinks around the mango tree. During my last year in Mexico, I picked up work at a new bakery in town. I took my dog to work morning shifts alone, used commercial yeast, and made 50 pesos (about $2.50) an hour. Having spent a good amount of time experimenting with other forms of fermentation in the kitchen, I began recipe-testing sourdough bagels at home. With only bleached white flour available, I reached out to Wildwood Flour about wheat berries, in hopes of buying, growing, and milling some quality flour down south.

I drove up to San Diego to visit family in May of 2021. I had planned to stay for two months. For some spare change, I picked up baking at the old Pannikin, and every once in a while for Wildwood Flour (then only a cottage food operation). By October of the same year, I was offered 50% ownership of Wildwood Flour LLC and we signed a three year lease on 1976 Garnet Ave. Seven months of construction and four months after opening our doors, I bought the business and became the sole owner. If you find this hard to believe, you can only imagine how I felt. 

Fortunately, there existed a group of beautifully kind and incredibly fun people working with me, who I came to love and grew to depend on. I learned a good deal during our time on Garnet and came away with equal parts pride and disbelief. Alas, it wasn’t meant to last – so we moved out and moved on. I remain grateful.

Deeply exhausted, I spent most of January catching up on sleep, with plans of taking it easy for a while. I moved up to my family’s ranch in central CA, bottle fed a baby cow, and baked to pass the time and keep my starter alive. Restless, I spent the next two months online looking at potential bakery properties in the greater San Diego area. But after enough sleep to regain sanity, I thought about my life and goals before the bakery – to have the space to be able to feed myself and others through an intimate connection with the land.

I drove back to San Diego and started visiting potential properties in east county and beyond. Weeks passed without hope for anything worthwhile or within my budget. Drawn by a beautiful wooden barn off old Highway 80, and lost in route to one of the potential empty lots I had looked up the day before, there it was. The road wound around a bend, pitched and dipped, and all of the sudden, we left behind dry rocky mountains and entered into a lush green hollow. We drove in at the sight of a ‘for sale' sign, and became fast friends with the owner of the ranch. Within the week I was signing paperwork, and at the beginning of May, I closed escrow. 

Nestled in a hollow and surrounded by BLM land, Wildwood Farms is located less than an hour east of San Diego. The property includes a meadow filled with hundred year old oaks, thriving native plants, abundant wildlife, a two story barn, good well water, and will have a variety of livestock. My hope for Wildwood Farms is to bring Wildwood Flour bakery back to life, including a large grist mill to supply ourselves, as well as others with high quality, freshly milled flour. I have dreams of an outdoor kitchen, wood fired oven, and a gathering space to cook lovely little meals for those who visit.  It will take time to move, tend the land, and build out the bakery and outdoor cooking areas –  but it is work that I am deeply excited for. This is a lifelong dream in the making, and an opportunity that will be shared with all friends of Wildwood Flour. 

Endlessly grateful for your support.

Lauren