By Kat Schuster
Condensation fogs the glass door to a wooden, mid-sized town house every Sunday morning on Chestnut Avenue in downtown Long Beach. Inside, a young couple is hurriedly preparing their storefront, one that’s technically their living room.
There are only a few places to find Gusto Bread; a small but steadily growing bakery which was created by local residents Arturo Enciso and Ana Salatino just a year ago.
“We’re going to be cutting it really close,” Salatino says to Enciso, eyeing the line assembling outside almost 30 minutes before opening.
“Hurry, hurry,” she mumbles to herself, helping to spread a cloth on a long table where they will place an assortment of sourdough and wheat loaves, fruit pastries and baskets of baguettes.
Each Sunday, they open up their home in a residential neighborhood, which doubles as a quaint village bakery. They open at 10 a.m. and are bustling until close at 2 p.m. — or until they sell out.
Sabrina Flores
Arturo Enciso prepares his storefront for customers, which doubles as his home in downtown Long Beach. Gusto Bread is only open on Sundays and they often sell out before their closing time at 2 p.m.
“Whichever comes first,” Salatino says, handing paper bags of their coveted California Loaf to her mother, Sylvia Goñi, who sometimes helps out on Sundays.
The warmth of their home, the soft indie music playing in the background, the smell of freshly baked sourdough and Enciso’s friendly demeanor has practically become ritualistic. For the regulars, it’s church.
“This is the best bread that I’ve eaten anywhere in the U.S.,” says Long Beach resident Tony Brown, with confidence. “Arturo is a super nice guy and all of his ingredients are organic. I’m just praying that they make it.”
After they get through their first rush, the couple welcomes guests into their lush garden, alive with leafy kale and flowers. A long, wooden table is set with olive oil and homemade cultured butter for customers and friends to gather and break bread.
“It’s a goal of ours to use [the garden space] more,” Enciso says. “When it’s a sunny day we’ll be telling people, ‘Come hang out, maybe bring a bottle of wine and have a picnic in our garden’ … that’s definitely the kind of community we want to build.”
Enciso wakes up at 4 a.m. four days a week to perfect what he calls a recreation of Old World bread. He only uses organic flour and grains and sources them from farms in California.
Before they cleared out their own living room to transform it into a bakery, the two sold their bread at pop-up shops. Now, Gusto can be found at local farmers markets and a few select restaurants in town, one of which is Wide Eyes Open Palms.
“We were always wanting something that was made with organic flour,” said Angie Evans, co-owner of WeOp. “There was really no one at the time in Long Beach who was making bread from scratch or using organic ingredients.”
In addition to WeOp, Enciso’s bread is now served at James Republic, Roe Seafood, Rose Park Roasters, Rasselbock and Berlin Bistro.
“I’m not trying to be this big bread business and be in every shop,” Enciso said. “I can safely say everyone I work with, all the restaurants we’re in, I have a relationship with them. They appreciate my bread and respect it. It’s a blessing to work with those places.”
Last Wednesday, Enciso manned the Gusto Bread table at the Marine Stadium Farmer’s Market. Between sales and handshakes with customers and friends, he reminisced.
Paula Kiley
Freshly baked bread are on display at the Gusto Bread table Tuesday at the Bixby Park Farmer’s Market.
“I’ve been making bread for six years,” Enciso said. “Before, I did various odd jobs … I’m an artist so I’ve always lived that lifestyle where you just work something so you can work on your art, you know? It was mostly music, later clay and now bread.”
Gusto Bread stands out among others, not only for its natural grain, levain and near-addicting balance of opposing flavors; but for its stenciled designs, decorated fruitcakes and fougasse, artfully twisted into different shapes.
“I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning and it’s five now, but I’m still energized, just seeing friends and meeting people who enjoy our bread,” Enciso said.
Enciso recalled his first attempts at making bread in a rustic old wooden stove on a piece of property that he and Salatino lived in before their current address.
But Gusto isn’t the couple’s first venture into the entrepreneurial world. Shortly after the two began dating eight years ago, they shared a love for tea ceremonies and decided to sell tea at the local farmers market — until they found their niche with breadmaking.
While Enciso prepares and bakes the bread and is the primary face of the business, Salatino, who’s a freelance graphic designer, created the logo and website, and helps Enciso on the backend.
“We’re pretty complementary in our skill sets,” Salatino said. “Together we’re able to find ways to do things. I’m a bit of a problem solver.”
Enciso said he hopes to open up a bakery space in the next few years and to provide a minimalistic dining experience that prioritizes bread.
“Space is becoming an issue,” Enciso said. “I’m starting to see the limitations … but I love working from home. When I go to work, I just go downstairs.”
While business is flourishing and the lines get longer every month, Enciso and Salatino are pacing themselves in terms of growth.
“It’s an unusual way that we’re living,” Salatino said. “I just see it as a useful way to grow organically before we take that next step.”
