Farmer x Baker expanding with O'Hara location

A popular waterfront eatery is expanding its operations.

Farmer x Baker, a repurposed shipping container-turned-eatery located inside Aspinwall Rivertrail Park, plans to open a new brick-and-mortar location in O’Hara Township this fall and serve as the exclusive caterer and provider for a new weekend brunch at Cellar on Penn in the Strip District.

Farmer x Baker debuted in 2019 with two employees but owner, farmer and lifelong baker Jennifer Urich said the tiny space can’t accommodate the needs of her growing catering aspect of the business.

“We grew to 20 employees and we will have 40 by next year,” Urich said.

“We outgrew our facility in Aspinwall and we’re just growing. Our product has resonated with the public.”

Urich recently purchased a building located at 1101 Powers Run Road that will serve as home base and a production facility and will offer takeout and grab-n-go specialty market food items that will include baked goods, deli and hot foods.

Sit-down service will not be available in the new location. Instead, all food items will be available for delivery or grab-and-go.

“All foods are organic and locally sourced,” Urich said.

All of Farmer x Baker’s creations are made from scratch with non-GMO and organic ingredients.

Farmer x Baker has built a name for itself as a go-to source for gluten-free foods.

“I’m gluten-free and that’s one of the reasons I started baking high-quality, gluten-free foods. There’s so much bad product out there with a lot of chemicals. People are sick of eating garbage,” Urich said.

Farmer x Baker makes 600 bagels a week and Urich said she has people drive from as far away as Greensburg to stock up on gluten-free items.

Head pastry chef Dianne DeStefano, baker and chef Maura Rapkin and manager/baker Ashley Jones will operate the new location in O’Hara, while Urich will split her time between all three endeavors.

The Farmer x Baker location in Aspinwall will remain.

“We love our riverfront location and would never leave,” said Urich, 42.

“The bagels started it all. They’re our most popular item,” said Urich, who bakes all of her breads and baked goods from scratch.

The farm-to-table concept will continue at the new takeout location on Powers Run Road, and delivery will be available.

Urich said she plans to hire her own in-house delivery team and will not rely on other food delivery services such as GrubHub and DoorDash.

Farmer x Baker has partnered with organic local farms such as Tiny Seed Farm, Goat Rodeo Farm, Be Wilder Farm, Freedom Farms and Santa Farms Meats.

“For me, it’s just an amazing feeling to connect with my community and just take care of people — feeding them great food,” Urich said.

Brunch at Cellar on Penn in the Strip District is scheduled for weekends from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. beginning Aug. 7.

Urich originally hails from Michigan and baked her first pie when she was 7 years old.

She owns and operates a 210 year-old-farm in Gibsonia she named Root & Heart Farm.

Urich said her husband nicknamed her “Hurricane Jenn”, a reference to her time spent living on Isle of Palms, a barrier island off Charleston, S.C., and her experience weathering devastating Hurricane Hugo in 1989 that hit Charleston.

“I’ll be bouncing around like a ping pong ball,” Urich said. “Hospitality is always at the forefront.”

Farmer x Baker is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday and is located at 285 River Ave. in Aspinwall.