SEQUIM — If the simple “Bread Bread Bread” message in Pane D’Amore’s window has the power to pull people over — and they have been swerving into the parking lot all week — one can only imagine what will happen Thursday morning.
That’s when Frank D’Amore, founder of the Pane D’Amore bakery of Port Townsend, will open the doors of his Sequim shop at Fifth Avenue and West Washington Street.
At 8 a.m., he will unleash the fragrance of 400 loaves, plus 40 trays of Parisian-style pastries, delivered in a gleaming white van fresh from the ovens in Port Townsend.
But might the scents diminish during the drive over?
D’Amore and Linda Yakush, his partner in life, art and business, promise they will not.
“My truck is absolutely wild with fragrance,” Yakush said of the vehicle that until now was used for deliveries around Jefferson County.
D’Amore sings the praises of his products, of course: 15 varieties of artisan breads, each from a recipe he has polished over decades.
But he also hails what he calls “an amazing mix of talents” and a combined 100 years of experience among those who have made the Sequim shop happen.
“Linda really runs the business. I’m a baker with some good ideas,” D’Amore said. “She is also an amazing baker — a pastry chef who learned on the job.”
D’Amore himself began baking bread in the summer of 1969, right after he finished high school in Seattle.
Then there’s the designer of the new store, Donald Yakush. He’s Linda’s former husband; D’Amore calls him a longtime friend and “an unbelievable chocolatier” who doesn’t merely make candy. He sculpts it.
At Pane D’Amore, Donald Yakush’s confections will be offered alongside Yvonne’s Chocolates, truffles and other treats handmade by Yvonne Yokota of Dungeness.
The shop will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and D’Amore entreats customers to come quickly.
“A smart bakery runs out early,” he said. “We rarely have day-old.”
Besides, D’Amore added, “it’s really pretty magnificent in the morning.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
