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Staycation O N T H E M O N T E R E Y B A Y 10 F A L L 2 0 1 9 N o matter which part of Santa Cruz County you live in, you're fortunate to live near Companion Bakeshop. ey started with a Westside Santa Cruz location in 2011, added a combination coffee shop and bakery "Cat. Cloud. Companion." at Abbott Square in 2017 (this branch is co-owned by Cat & Cloud Coffee, which is the coffee they serve at the other two locations), and ex- panded to Aptos in November 2018. Plus, they sell their bread and baked goods at all Santa Cruz Community Farmers' Markets locations (downtown, Felton, Live Oak, Scotts Valley and Westside) and at Friday's Monterey farmers market and the Cabrillo College-based Aptos market on Saturdays. Companion Bakeshop's founder, Erin Justus Lampel, is married to Jeremy Lampel and they have two young kids. Companion is definitely a family-run op- eration. " I owned and operated Compan- ion when I first met Jeremy. I was baking AND doing the farmers markets (usually all in one day)," shares Erin. "Jeremy was selling avocados at our local markets and we met -- possibly the true beginning of avocado toast," she jokes. At one point, Jeremy was involved with the business on a daily basis. "ese days, Jeremy has another job, but we still run the business as a family," Erin says. Our bakeshops are our second home...our kids run around eating avocado toast and croissants." Companion has a variety of delicious breads, pastries and pies. Sweets include tempting concoctions like dark chocolate sea salt cookies, almond cakes (gluten- free), seasonal shortbread, seasonal tea cakes (think pumpkin or zucchini choco- late chip), bear claws, and pies like lemon buttermilk pie, walnut or chocolate chess. Savory goodies include bread (Boules, Baguettes, Batards, and loaves), ham and gruyere croissants, quiche, maple bacon biscuits, and breakfast galettes with egg and ham or bacon. Two of Companion's most popular pastries are buckwheat blueberry scones (which are gluten-free) and cinnamon rolls. "Also, our seasonal galettes really highlight the locally grown produce we use. We have awesome farms so near to us," Erin shares. Some examples are sum- mertime peach galettes featuring fruit from Stackhouse at the Downtown Farm- ers Market, and dry farm tomato galettes with tomatoes from Live Earth Farm. "We use produce from Pie Ranch, Dirty Girl, Route One, and so many others!" Other customer staples are Compan- ion's croissants. "And, for Sourdough bread, popular items are the Goat Horn (melted goat cheese) and our Light & Fluffy Loaf (extra sour and family size)." Erin is thrilled that they were able to open their latest spot on Soquel Drive in Aptos. It's in the former site of Heather's Patisserie. "ere are beautiful tall ceilings and windows surrounding the space," she says. "We have a large private patio as well. It's a true neighborhood spot for sure! It is home to our new Pastry Kitchen where we have expanded on some offer- ings like cinnamon rolls plus our usual lineup of sourdough croissants and of course our buckwheat blueberry scone and our sourdough breads." For those wishing to imbibe beer or liquor before or aer their bread or pastries, the Westside location is "…super close to Humble Sea Brewery, Venus Spir- its tasting room and Santa Cruz Moun- tain Brewing," says Erin. In Aptos, Com- panion has neighbors like Aptos Natural Foods, Outside-In and Zameen Mediter- ranean Cuisine, for buying groceries, gis or lunch and dinner. "Both spots are near amazing outdoor attractions (Westcliff and Nisene Marks)...and of course world- renowned surf locations!" Erin wants to share some of her, and Companion's, values: "Since day one, we have committed to using organic milks in all of our coffee drinks. No other place in town offers this, or if they do it's an option with an extra price tag. Our philosophy is to use the best of the best. We care about what our customers are putting in their bodies." ey use all-organic baking ingre- dients, and continuously source local products. "When faced with a shortcut, we always ask ourselves if it will take away from our quality," says Erin. "Honestly, if we can't use these great products and have our close relationships with the farms we support, the business would not be the special place it is." Erin has a farm- ing/agriculture degree, and explains "… by Tara Fatemi Walker Visit Companion Bakeshop a S W E ET C ou N T y C oM Pa N ioN Photo contributed ...continues on 11