‘No offering like it’
New bakery opens in Riverside
GREENWICH — Walk into the new Cobs Bread store in Riverside, and some things stand out: The six different varieties of scones, the pull-apart cheese bread, three kinds of sourdough loaves and a distinctive bakery aroma. But there’s no coffee.
“We don’t serve coffee — it would dilute from the focus on the baking,” said Robert Hyden, the owner and operator of the new business on Riverside Lane, which opened two weeks ago.
The store is unique in other ways as well — it is the test lab for a large bakery chain that was founded in Australia and is now making a move into the U.S. market. Hyden’s Greenwich operation, following his opening of a Cobs Bread franchise on High Ridge Road in
Stamford in 2015, is only the second one in the U.S. Meanwhile, there are 600 bread stores in Australia and 120 in Canada.
Hyden, along with his wife, Louise, was a natural choice to open the U.S. market to the Australian bread chain. A native of Melbourne, Australia, he’s had a long career in finance as well as a deep interest in food, studying at a culinary academy in New York City and working the line at an upscale seafood restaurant in midtown Manhattan.
He has lived in Greenwich since the early 2000s — now calling the Shippan neighborhood of Stamford home — and all three of his sons went to Greenwich High School. Louise Hyden, the co-owner, has studied nutrition and the economics of food.
He had another reason to get into the food-retail business — Hyden really missed the bread and baked goods he had loved in Australia. “When we got here we missed coffee and bread. There’s no offering like it in America,” he said.
It’s a crowded field, so Cobs Bread has worked out a strategy to stand out, said the food-industry entrepreneur.
The shop has a highly trained staff, knows the products thoroughly, and everything is baked from scratch, said Hyden, who had to take his own training courses in Canada to secure the franchise. Some 16 employees are working out of the store, most of them locally hired.
The work isn’t easy and requires knowledge, patience and exactitude. The Italian bread takes 20 hours to proof, rest and bake, and work at the Greenwich shop starts at 2 a.m. Since freshness is at a premium, the store gives away a large portion of its products to local food banks and nonprofits, including Liberation House in Stamford.
“It’s good for disposal, and good for philanthropic outreach,” the franchise-owner said, and the chain also places an emphasis on grassroots partnerships in the community.
There are no places to sit and linger at Cobs Bread — the bread and baked goods are the main draw. The bakery and its machinery are also open to view by customers. “It comes six feet out of the oven to the customer,” Hyden said. There is also an unusually wide range of goods — savory buns, croissants, baguettes pizzas and numerous types of bread.
Opening a new business during the coronavirus has been a challenge, but not an insurmountable, Hyden said. Sales have slowed at the Stamford location, he said. But business was brisk at the Greenwich shop, with a steady stream of customers coming in, and lines forming on occasion. Since there are other gourmet shops and a cafe within walking distance, the stretch in Riverside is becoming something of a foodie destination, creating a synergy among the different businesses that operate there.
The operation is also a family affair, with one of the Hyden’s sons also working at the bakery. “It’s been really nice working together” with family, said Louise Hyden. “And it’s fun to be here.”
Surrounded by tempting treats and a veritable mountain of carbohydrates within easy reach, Rob Hyden has somehow managed to maintain his fitness. He and his wife often eat in the Australian style at home, with lots of grilled fish and chicken, as well as Asian-inspired dishes. His workout routine is simple, he joked: “I’ve never worked so hard in my life,” he said. “But owning your own business, and doing something you know and love, it’s the best.”