07/11/2023
Enso Kitchen is closing on Friday, July 21. For good.
Wow. There I said it.
5 years ago I opened up this little bread bakery without much fanfare. I never envisioned it would be what it is now. That was never the plan. From the beginning, Enso was a selfish endeavor - I had fallen in love with making sourdough bread and I thought this tiny little bakery would be just the thing to keep me out of trouble. Spread a little joy, feed some people, share good food, and above all, be a positive contribution to the community.
As more people stumbled upon this little bread spot, we grew slowly, expanded our lunch and breakfast offerings, added baked goods, and added catering. When the pandemic descended we shrunk our offerings, focused on bread, and kept. the. doors. open. Through all the growing and shrinking and adding and taking away, we maintained our high standards and remained selfish.
I know our hours of operation are inconvenient for most of you. I know you wanted us to be open on Saturdays. I know you wanted us to be open on holidays. This family business prioritized family, but it wasn’t all great for the family. I was into work at the bakery at 3am M-F to make sure the dough got prepped and the bread got baked off for y’all. Because I wanted to make sure there was bread for sale on Monday, I worked Sundays, too, to get the dough ready to bake off on Monday (I was dedicated to the process!). I’ve taken my sourdough starter on vacations to maintain its feeding schedule, and I missed out on a few trips altogether. But I was home when my kids got off the school bus. I was on the sideline (or even on the bench, coaching) for my kids’ soccer games through the years. Sometimes we even got to take a spontaneous family weekend trip. It wasn’t perfect, by any means, but I did my best.
I am forever indebted to the amazing staff that helped me make this dream a reality. From the beginning, I have had the best people in the game. I am humbled, daily, by the people who have helped make Enso such a warm and inviting place. I’m frequently told that my staff is great, and I’m grateful that others acknowledge this, because they are great. My staff is a gift. They are a real-life fountain of youth - I didn’t deserve them.
I also cannot not say enough about the community that has lifted us up and supported us. It has been absolutely heartwarming to see so many familiar names pop up on our order sheets through the years and to see so many now familiar faces walk through the door. We love and appreciate this Southern Maryland community - this place is what it is because of you and I cannot imagine doing this anywhere else.
So why close? I won’t go too much into it, but the family has some real exciting adventures ahead, so it’s time to move onto the next thing.
What’s going to happen to the space? I wish I had more concrete details to share, but as of now, all I can say is that there are potential buyers and we’re still working through the particulars. It’s complicated, you know. I’ll fill you all in as soon as I know more.
Enso means circle in the Zen school of Buddhism, and is often translated as “circle of togetherness.” In practice, an enso is hand-painted on paper with a brush, typically in one brush-stroke. It symbolizes the beauty of imperfection and simplicity and exemplifies freedom and persistence. When I chose Enso as the name of the bakery, I saw many connections with the work we do everyday at the bakery. Everything we do is from scratch and by hand and our products are beautifully and uniquely imperfect. We used the simplest of ingredients, and through technique and care, turned it into something special. The enso was the ideal symbol for the bakery back then, and it holds so much more meaning for me as we get ready to close. Thanks for letting me cook for you.
