Conor O’Neill created The Cottage as a means to connect with and share naturally leavened-bread with his local community in Lynnwood and Edmonds, WA.

Conor traveled to Paris, France in December 2016 and learned about the ‘old-world’ processes and techniques of naturally-leavened bread making. He appreciated their unique connection to food, which initiated his curiosity in hand-made breads. When he returned from his trip, he experimented with locally-milled flours from the Palouse region. Prior to starting The Cottage, Conor spent time at Columbia City Bakery in Seattle, which equipped him with the experience and skills to continue dreaming of one day opening a bakery of his own.

In March 2018, Conor launched ‘The Cottage at Blue Ridge’ in his Lynnwood home and began practicing and perfecting each loaf he baked. After a year of trial-runs and recipe testing, Conor started to give away bread to neighbors at the base of his driveway in May 2019, with just seven bread options and a few small treats, all placed on one small table-cart. A few months later, The Cottage began expanding its selection of products and started hosting Pop-Up events in Perrinville, just blocks from where the bread had been baked fresh that morning. Lines of neighbors and bread-lovers eagerly waited to purchase sourdough breads and pastries on the corner of Olympic View Drive and 76th Avenue each Saturday morning.

The Cottage opened its first storefront in Perrinville in December 2021, with hopes of providing honest and local food to more people.