For ten years, Bree’osh Bakery Café has shared European-style breads and pastries with the local community – first from its quaint café in Montecito and, since 2020, from a second location on De La Vina Street in Santa Barbara. Founded in 2015 by husband-and-wife team Pierre-Yves Henry and Nelly Mousseau, Bree’Osh quickly built a devoted following for its authentic French specialties, from almond croissants and pains au chocolat to sourdough baguettes and buttery brioche.
The couple first met in business school in their native France, where they dreamed of one day starting a venture together. At the time, however, a bakery wasn’t on their radar. Mousseau pursued a career in business, while Henry worked for years in banking customer relations until realizing he wanted more out of life – namely, to do something more fulfilling and hands-on. That shift led him to Ferrandi, the prestigious school of culinary arts in Paris, where he retrained as a baker before honing his skills in the city’s Michelin-starred kitchens.
When the idea of opening their own boulangerie took shape, the pair recognized the challenges of doing so in Paris. “Competing in Paris would have meant fighting for a little share of an already-saturated market,” shares Henry. “We chose instead to bring our French know-how where it could create the most impact – in a community eager for sourdough, long fermentation, and stone milled flour, where we could grow and own our niche.”