Young business owner opens Hearth bakery in Weston

Dylan Low grew up hearing his entrepreneurial parents discussing their businesses over dinner.

Now he operates his own company, a wood-fired bakery, in a 12,000-square-foot building in Weston that also houses his mother’s resale shop and his father’s classic car restoration business.

Hearth opened earlier this month at 17985 N. Missouri 45.

“I’m following in my parents’ footsteps a little bit,” Low said. “I realized I wanted to be my own boss, to follow my passion, to do something I love doing every day. And I’m building an investment for the future.”

Low, 21, worked at several area restaurants, including a stint as a line cook at the Avalon Cafe in Weston and as a baking and pastry intern at Bluestem restaurant in Westport, before graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in California’s Napa Valley in December 2014.

Four days later he was back in Weston working on the Hearth space.

He had to get some of his father’s classic cars out and then strip the paint off and reseal the concrete floor, paint the walls, and put up wagon wheel light fixtures. Some old narrow window frames from Low’s Weston home now serve as dividers between the counter and oven area.

But he spent six months building the brick oven, based on a German design he doubled in size to 8-feet deep, 5-feet wide — big enough to keep up with expected demand.

He has flour bags stacked up next to a small retail area selling local and regional products including coffee, honey, soap and lotion, giving Hearth the feel of an old country store.

Low’s father, Scott Low, opened Flashback Restoration in 2007 in the former apple warehouse, and his mother, Michele Low, later moved her My Sister’s Closet from downtown Weston to the building.

The Lows moved to Weston from Wichita when Low was in high school, and they live nearby. Low’s grandparents, who live in Platte City, often help out out on busy days.

Four days a week, Low arrives by 3 a.m. to start the fire and begin mixing the dough for that day as he watches the sunrise through his front windows.

He expects to have a 9-grain organic sourdough and ciabatta on the menu regularly, and then whatever seasonal offerings he comes up with. So far that has included an heirloom tomato bread, cinnamon raisin bread, Hawaiian sweet bread, cranberry walnut bread, and focaccia with fresh herbs from his garden, as well as lemon-blueberry and Missouri peach tarts, hot apple fritters and beignets. Customers can check his Facebook page for updates.

Hearth’s hours are 7 a.m. to noon Wednesday to Saturday. Most breads sell for $6.50 for a 30-ounce loaf. He typically sells out by noon, drawing customers from as far as Leavenworth just three weeks after his soft opening over the Fourth of July weekend.

Low also has a frequent buyer program called Breadscriptions. Customers sign up for three months and can pick up loaves of fresh bread every Wednesday for a reduced price. Five different loaves will be available, and Breadscriptions customers can order as many loaves as they want for that week.

“I’ve sold out every day so far, except for one day,” Low said. “So this way they can guarantee they get they loaf they would like to get.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Young business owner opens Hearth bakery in Weston."