Great Harvest Bread Co. - Newbury Park
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 08:48AM 
Great Harvest Bread Co. in Newbury Park is a great place to go for fresh baked, delicious bread in the Conejo Valley.
The bread here is outstanding. Always fresh. You get there in the morning and there is a large selection of all sorts of breads, from their signature Honey Whole Wheat to the fancier breads that those, like me, with sweet tooths enjoy...we're talking pumpkin breads, banana breads, chocolate chip breads and the like. There is a detailed menu of breads prepared daily at www.conejobread.com.
The people here are just incredibly nice and also very supportive of the local community. I see these guys serving free bread samples at events all over town. The owners are Jim and Lupe Costello. They both left careers at large companies to open this awesome addition to our town. They are extremely friendly. Walk in to the place and soon you will be offered fresh bread samples.
The place is extremely clean. You can actually see them baking the breads. Everything is made from scratch. There are no preservatives used. They even make their own whole wheat flour daily. The bread stays fresh for up to 7 to 10 days, but you won't have to worry about that because in my household (and at work) the bread is usually devoured with 2 days or so!
Independent bakeries are a dying breed as the large grocery stores and Costco's of the world have commoditized fresh baked goods. You may pay a small premium for the moist, warm, mouth-watering breads at Great Harvest but it is well worth it.
AN UPDATE AS OF 12/10/08: Stopped by Great Harvest yesterday for a sandwich. My first one there. They are only served during lunchtime hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I had just a basic chicken salad sandwich on whole grain bread and it was absolutely delicious. Bread really "makes" the sandwich and since the bread here is so good, the entire sandwich is excellent, event down to the last few bites of bread. You will definitely steer clear of Subway once you try the sandwiches here. And I also bought a loaf of the seasonal holiday Kentucky Bourbon Bread. Stocked full of dried fruits soaked in bourbon and loaded with pecans and walnuts, this rich bread is very hearty, sweet and delicious. Might be an acquired taste for some due to the bourbon flavor, but this is something to go out of your way for. Kind of sounds and almost looks like a fruitcake (yecchh), but don't be mistaken. This is good stuff.
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