Carb fans looking to get baked may have noticed the departure of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse from Union Market Tustin. Technically, they haven’t left the building, only their original storefront. They’ve teamed up with local coffee powerhouse Portola Coffee Roasters to carry their pastries in most locations (the exception being Old Town Orange, since Provisions Market takes care of foodservice). Turns out Tustin was merely a testing ground to see how Orange County would respond to all the doughy goodness. It passed the test, but now corporate is locating a dedicated OC production facility, so those cruffins can come at you hella fresh daily.
Per Portola Co-Owner Christa Duggan, they’ll be launching their pastry partnership with Mr. Holmes tomorrow, with giveaways to celebrate the launch on social media.
“We will be offering all of the same pastries that you can get in a Mr. Holmes Bakehouse location. Portola Coffee will be the only retail outlet that will be selling Mr. Holmes in Orange County. The vision we have with this partnership is to allow our customers to experience Mr. Holmes Bakehouse— just as if they were stepping foot in one of their locations in San Francisco or Los Angeles . . .along with an excellent cup of Portola Coffee. We will also be providing pairing suggestions that we hope will improve our customer’s experience. Some of the pairing suggestions will be MHB Mulled Wine Danish with our Cappuccino, or a MHB Lemon Hops Curd Donut with our Ethiopia Chalchissa natural brewed coffee.”
With an empty space in Union Market, Thailand-based brand All Coco just signed on to launch a U.S. location at this spot. Best known for their Nam Hom coconuts, products include a juicy pudding, chilled desserts and pure coconut water. With 14 locations in Thailand and growing, this “fragrant water” (Nam translates to water; Hom is fragrant) is already as mainstream as matcha and macarons. Hey, we’re just glad Holmes croissants are still an option.
A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.