IZOLA Bakery

IZOLA Bakery Hot-from-the-oven, small batch Croissants & Wild Sourdough made with LOVE.

“I’M NOT A PASTRY GUY...”That’s how Taco started his visit to IZOLA.If you don’t know Taco, he’s a San Diego native and ...
08/18/2026

“I’M NOT A PASTRY GUY...”

That’s how Taco started his visit to IZOLA.

If you don’t know Taco, he’s a San Diego native and food creator who recently set out to visit some of the city’s most viral food spots, wait in the lines, eat the food, and decide for himself whether they actually deserve all the attention.

He’d never been to IZOLA. We didn’t know he was coming. And, apparently, pastries aren’t really his thing. So this was going to be interesting....

He actually came because his friend and fellow food creator, How Kev Eats, had been to IZOLA and told him there was something here he absolutely had to try.

Before Taco even got to the food, though, he got to meet Elon. Elon is one of those people who lives and breathes what we’re trying to create here at IZOLA. He was so inspired by his visits as a guest that he eventually became a team member - and now we now have the honor of having him at the front counter welcoming our guests in.

Building a team of people who care deeply about the food, our guests and one another has always been just as important to us as the food.

And then, of course, there was the food.

We’ll leave most of that part for you to watch. But we’ll give you one little preview. After his first bite of our Muffuletta Croissant, Taco had this to say:

“This got to be one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

Not bad for a guy who’s “not a pastry guy.” 😂

What we loved about the whole video is that none of it was planned. Taco just showed up one day, stood in line, met our team, talked to the people around him, and experienced IZOLA the same way anyone else walking through our doors would.

And that’s probably why it was so much fun for us to watch.

There’s Taco discovering Elon. There’s a little of the IZOLA origin story. There are some very enthusiastic reactions to croissants. And, eventually, Taco answers the question he came to IZOLA to answer in the first place:

Is IZOLA worth the hype?

We won’t spoil his answer.

Thanks for coming by, Taco. We loved having you.

THANK YOU, SAN DIEGOWe asked (and asked again 😬), you voted, and we’re incredibly grateful. IZOLA was named Best Bakery ...
08/15/2026

THANK YOU, SAN DIEGO

We asked (and asked again 😬), you voted, and we’re incredibly grateful.

IZOLA was named Best Bakery in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Best of San Diego and Best Bread in San Diego Magazine’s 2026 Readers’ Picks.

That second one feels especially fun to share alongside this loaf. Our Lao Gan Ma Gruyère Sourdough exemplifies what we love about bread around here: long fermentation, a wild and open crumb, and then a whole lot of flavor packed inside. Spicy, crispy Lao Gan Ma chili crisp and melty Gruyère, swirled all the way through.

What makes both of these recognitions especially meaningful is that they came from you.

Thank you for voting, for telling your friends about us, for bringing your families through our doors, and for continuing to give us the opportunity to bake for you.

ENDING SOON!Mango season is coming to an end, and sadly that means we’re down to the final days of Mango Lao 芒果捞.We’ll k...
08/10/2026

ENDING SOON!

Mango season is coming to an end, and sadly that means we’re down to the final days of Mango Lao 芒果捞.

We’ll keep making it as long as we can get those silky, honey-sweet, beautifully fragrant Ataulfo mangoes, but we think we’re getting pretty close to the end.

Mango Lao was inspired by the cold, sweet mango desserts Jenny used to bring her grandmother from a Chinese tea shop, and this summer she brought her own version to IZOLA.

Each one starts with half of a fresh mango, then gets layered with sweetened condensed milk ice, mango pudding, our housemade mango ice cream made with mango purée, cream and condensed milk, and finally 100% mango purée.

The fun is getting your spoon all the way down in there and mixing everything together. Cold and creamy, icy and smooth, with juicy fresh mango running through the whole thing. It’s basically summer in a bowl.

Mango Lao is available for walk-ins only and only while mango season lasts. So come get one while these beautiful mangoes are still around.

And while we’ve got ya, here’s a little IZOLA pro tip...IZOLA Weekdays.

Weekends are a blast, and we love the energy of a full bakeshop, but Monday through Friday is a whole different IZOLA. Most days there’s little to no line, you get to take your pick of where to sit, and there’s a little more time to settle in and hang out.

It’s been hot out there, so grab a table inside and enjoy the air conditioning, or find a spot on the patio if San Diego is behaving itself.

And the best part? The ovens don’t know it’s Tuesday.

Everything is still coming out hot from the oven, all....day....long....

Come linger with us.

Some things are better kept classified.Ours won’t be for much longer.Our newsletter subscribers will get the full reveal...
08/01/2026

Some things are better kept classified.

Ours won’t be for much longer.

Our newsletter subscribers will get the full reveal this Sunday, along with first access to Monday pre-orders.

Link in bio.

IZOLA was recognized as one of San Diego’s fastest-growing companies making an impact on our local economy. At this year...
07/31/2026

IZOLA was recognized as one of San Diego’s fastest-growing companies making an impact on our local economy. At this year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards, IZOLA joined a group of honorees that collectively employ more than 13,000 people, added more than 1,500 net new jobs between 2024 and 2025, and contributed more than $6 billion to the regional economy.

We never could have foreshadowed this when we began lowering baskets of croissants from our loft window. At the time, we were simply trying to connect with our neighbors. We could not yet see the careers that would be built, the people who would grow into leaders, or the opportunity we might one day have to make a meaningful impact on the community we call home.

To now be recognized for that impact is enormously humbling. We are deeply grateful to our team, our guests, and everyone who has helped transform an improbable little bakery into a company with the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the future of our home.

FULL CIRCLELong before IZOLA could meet the minimums required to purchase our French Beurre d’Isigny butter through a di...
07/29/2026

FULL CIRCLE

Long before IZOLA could meet the minimums required to purchase our French Beurre d’Isigny butter through a distributor, I would drive all the way to North County and clear out the shelves at Jimbo’s.
They were the only local store carrying butter of that quality, and we needed every pound we could get to keep laminating croissants.

We didn’t choose Beurre d’Isigny because it sounded fancy or because it was French. We chose it the way we make most decisions at IZOLA: by testing.

We made 17 separate batches of croissants using 17 different butters. No small feat for Jenny and me to hand laminate 17 batches of croissants together! There may have been some tears shed as we pushed our way through the long nights...

Everything else stayed the same: the formula, the timing, the temperature, the bake. With the help of our son Sacha and my mom Twila, we blind tasted them all.

Beurre d’Isigny was the clear winner.

That butter test has become a kind of shorthand for how we approach our work. We test, compare, adjust, and test again. We try to remove guesswork wherever we can. Whether it’s butter, fermentation, shaping, bake time, service, or systems, we want to understand what actually makes the result better.

So it felt genuinely full circle to sit in a room six years later and hear Jimbo Someck, the founder of Jimbo’s, speak about building a company with integrity.

He was laugh-out-loud funny, candid, smart, and as they say, the kind of guy you’d want to have a beer with. But what I will remember most is how he made me feel.

WORTH THE WAITSlice a croissant thin, hold it up to the light, and it unveils an enchanting beauty. You can see the spir...
07/24/2026

WORTH THE WAIT

Slice a croissant thin, hold it up to the light, and it unveils an enchanting beauty. You can see the spiral at the center, the gossamer layers stretching outward, and the open pockets that make the croissant feel almost impossibly light. It’s a mix of art and engineering, and that’s what sparked my passion for croissants 6 years ago.

I rarely tire of gazing upon the crumb structure of a croissant. It began as a 1 kilo block of butter, 2850g of dough, both feeling dense and solid in your hands, and after four days of shepherding - folding, resting, watching, shaping, proofing, hoping, baking and cheering it on - it somehow becomes something unexpected and beautiful. Kinda like our kids.

And the engineer in me appreciates that every part of the process matters. How we handle the dough, the temperature of the room, how long we allow it to rest, the humidity (and intention) we apply to it - the many small details most guests will never see (unless you go on a tour with me)...it all plays a part in the final result.

Skip a step...rush a step...it responds, and usually not in a good way...

It’s a process that can’t be rushed, but when you see the results, it’s easy to see why every minute was worth it.

07/20/2026

COME CLOSER...

I took a pretty circuitous path to opening a bakery.
In college, I studied civil engineering. Then I discovered I could make a career out of photography and was ready to quit school, with only one semester left, to chase my dream of working for National Geographic. My wise mother strongly advised against that plan. Thanks, Mom.

I finished the degree, then spent decades working as a photojournalist, director, and photographer before eventually finding my way to bread.

Most people look at a loaf of sourdough and see bread. The civil engineer in me sees clues throughout its structure, and I have a deep appreciation for the science and architecture behind a good loaf.

The raised ridge along the score is called the ear. Before the loaf goes into the oven, we make one deliberate cut across its surface. When the dough meets the intense heat, the steam inside pushes outward, the loaf expands, and the score opens to form the ear curling along the top.

That expansion is called oven spring, the loaf’s final burst of growth. It tells us a lot about everything that happened before the bread ever reached the oven: the health of the starter, the fermentation, the shaping, the tension built into the dough, and whether we caught it at just the right moment.

Turn the loaf and there’s more to see. The deeply caramelized crust. The tiny blisters created during its long, cold fermentation. The places where the dough stretched and opened as it baked.

That contrast between a sturdy, crackling crust and a tender interior is exactly what we’re chasing.

A loaf may look simple, but from every angle, it carries the story of all the time, judgment, and care that went into it.

And yes, I still get excited when one comes out looking like this.

We’re open and serving sourdough hot from the oven every day from 7a-2p.

07/16/2026

VOTE FOR JENNY!

IZOLA Fam, my dearest Jenny has been nominated for San Diego Magazine’s 2026 Celebrating Women Awards. While this comes as no surprise to me, I’m super proud of her.

There would be no IZOLA without Jenny.

She’s the brains behind so much of what happens here, from leading our team of 37, to building partnerships with organizations like Kitchens for Good, Second Chance, and CEO that help create pathways to work and new beginnings, to building the systems that help us forecast, plane every bake, and know what we truly have available for guests throughout the day.

But that’s only part of who she is.

She also dedicates her time to coaching, listening, helping people work through hard moments, and reminding them of what they’re capable of.

And she will never ask someone to do something she isn’t willing to do herself. She’ll be working through some wildly complicated operational problem one minute, then rolling up her sleeves and jumping in wherever she’s needed the next. Helping on the floor. Working through a new system at the bake bar. Or literally climbing into the dumpster to compress the recycling.

That’s Jenny.

Brilliant, tough, deeply caring, completely unafraid of hard work, and always thinking about how to make this place better for our guests and for the people who work here.

I get to see how much she gives to IZOLA every single day, and I would love for our community to help celebrate her.

Voting is open now and closes July 26. If Jenny or IZOLA has meant something to you, we’d be so grateful for your vote. Click the link in our bio to cast your vote!!

https://cw.sdmag.com/food-beverage/food-beverage-pioneer

THE LONG GAMEThere are faster ways to build a bakery. I could launch products before they’re ready. I could settle for “...
07/09/2026

THE LONG GAME

There are faster ways to build a bakery. I could launch products before they’re ready. I could settle for “good enough.” I could stop testing once customers seem happy.
But we’ve never been very good at any of those things.

When we first opened IZOLA, I wasn’t a trained baker. What eventually became our croissant wasn’t the result of a single breakthrough — it was hundreds of tiny adjustments. One variable at a time. Different butter. Different flour. Different proofing temperatures. Different humidity. We’d change one thing, bake, taste, learn, and start again.

Six years later...We’re still doing it. Because even when something is good, we still ask how it could be better.
That same philosophy quietly plays out behind the scenes every day.

This week, Jenny reached a major milestone on a project she’s been leading for more than a year. Serving everything hot from the oven sounds simple, but behind the scenes it requires hundreds of decisions each day: what’s baking, what’s promised to pre-orders, and what our Front of House team can confidently offer guests in that exact moment. We’ve been calling it izOS 2.0.

This week, she began running it side-by-side with our current system, testing every decision before it ever reaches our guests. Early results are showing an eight-fold improvement in speed, bringing us dramatically closer to truly live inventory throughout the day. By launch it will be at least twenty-fold faster.

Most guests will never notice...and honestly, that’s the point. I think the best improvements are often invisible, but they simply make everything feel a little easier.

That’s the long game.

It’s why some menu items take us months to develop. Why we challenge our vendors — and ourselves — to keep improving. Why our team hear us talk so often about Kaizen, the idea that small improvements, made consistently, become something extraordinary over time.

But ultimately, Jenny and I aren’t trying to build the fastest bakery. We’re trying to build a place that lasts — one where the next generation can bring their kids, gather around a table, and feel the same warmth and care that built it.

Address

1429 Island Avenue
San Diego, CA
92101

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 2pm
Tuesday 7am - 2pm
Wednesday 7am - 2pm
Thursday 7am - 2pm
Friday 7am - 2pm
Saturday 7am - 2pm
Sunday 7am - 2pm

Telephone

+16192898358

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when IZOLA Bakery posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to IZOLA Bakery:

Shortcuts

Share

Category