At the corner of Cortland Ave and Gates in the heart of Bernal Heights you will find Gillian Shaw Lundgren’s rustic bakery. You can’t miss it as the cult following has grown during covid and generally stretches up the block. It’s no surprise as she has brought delicious classic croissants and creative twists on pastries to this modern clean storefront 5 years running. Start out your day with some of their delicious danishes or a Pat Greaney breakfast sandwich (ham or spinach, egg and American cheese on a fresh bulkie roll). Or preorder a full size quiche, pot pie or fruit pie for a treat for the whole family. Or if you’re like me, roll over whenever you can, grab a coffee and point to anything that is left in the window. You can’t go wrong.
Gillian’s career in pastry led her to run the program at Moose’s in North Beach before growing roots in the Bernal Heights Community, working at the Liberty Cafe for years cultivating their pie and pastry program. When she wasn’t able to buy the business she started her own catering company doing pies, cookies, pastries and cakes out of a commercial kitchen just down the hill in the bayview and named it Black Jet after her heart dog who made the move with her across the country from Massachusetts. She briefly had a kiosk at the ferry building where you could grab her famous salted chocolate chip cookies, homemade oreos, crack-a-roons and pops (tarts) along with her pies.
These days she has a full time team of fantastic bakers including her long-time sous chef Max, who you will see mentioned in many of their items including Max’s Granola which my kids eat on their yogurt daily. Every weeks offerings change based on season and availability. Recently she was selling outstanding kumquat marmalade to go with their sourdough Bernal bread. With a strong presence on Instagram, you can drool over your phone and then go place an order for weekend pick-up.
While I have leaned heavy on the quality of her pies and cookies, (they are kinda my jam-pun intended), they also turn out fantastic rustic cakes with one of a kind decorations for any occasion. My daughter requested a unicorn cake for her 4th birthday last year which is way outside of my capabilities. Gillian turned out a unicorn with a sour straw mane! Just this week a friend told me her daughter said it was the most memorable cake and party she’s ever been to, which is funny since it was over a year ago!
Note the beautiful cake not the bad bang trim!
With her storefront in full swing she is living her dream and with that comes the peaks and valleys of being a business owner in expensive San Francisco. The only way to make sure she survives is for us to support her delectable top of the hill treats. This is your mission should you choose to accept it. I have and I don’t regret a single morsel!
