Bee Kind Bakery and Catering in Dunsmuir is a spot where locals hang out and travellers passing through town or staying for the region’s outdoor adventures are rewarded with unique treats.
The eatery on Sacramento Avenue in the town of 1,600 presents itself as a made-from-scratch bakery. Depending on the whims of the day, they might offer up chive and cheddar cheese biscuits, three-egg frittatas with smoked salmon, capers and goat cheese or breakfast sandwiches of buttermilk biscuits loaded with eggs, cheese, bacon, tomatoes and topped with arugula salad.
One recent morning, Bee Kind owner Brandy Black was finishing a batch of baklava cookies studded with walnuts.
Reviewers on Yelp give Bee Kind an average of five stars.
Bee Kind Bakery and Catering in Dunsmuir sells sandwiches, coffee and more. The eatery, art store and community gathering spot opened in 2023
“A hidden gem which needs to be visited. Amazing spot to have pastries and bakery bites,” one customer wrote.
Another reviewer said: “Hunting for a late lunch in Dunsmuir and wandered in to see a tray of freshly made turkey pot pies cooking. Tasty coffee, great owners, fabulous French tunes and beautiful art on the walls.”
Some of the from-scratch pastries for sale at Bee Kind Bakery and Catering in Dunsmuir. The restaurant is also part art gallery, part yoga studio, part event space and part community gathering spot.
Drinks include hot chai ($7.50 for 16 ounces), iced coffee ($4.50), yerba honey latte ($7.50 for 16 ounces), Mexican hot chocolate ($6.50 for 16 ounces) and the Bee Kind blend of local loose decaf tea ($5.25 for 16 ounces).
The restaurant Black and her husband Aaron opened in 2023 isn’t just about sweets.
Bee Kind is also part art gallery, part yoga studio and part event space. They’ve hosted weddings and baby showers, held documentary film nights and on some Sundays present live music performances by local groups and offer barbecue, tacos and pulled pork sandwiches.
Their retail shop sells books, gifts and artwork.
‘Bringing the community together in a new way’
Bee Kind hosts ambitious meals monthly, each with their own theme. Diners are encouraged to share conversations with others at their table, guided by a question prompt that arrives with each course. “Each question kind of makes you think. You learn about people,” said Black. “It’s for people who like food and bringing community together in a new way.”
For example, at the sold-out “Love Over Dinner” night in February, one of the prompt questions asked diners how they feel about love. The evening started with family-style white bean bruschetta. That was followed by foods that Black said nourish the heart, including beet soup with fresh cream and dill; pan fried sea bass with a miso, lemon and thyme glaze; Moroccan-style lamb; seared cauliflower steak; and, for dessert, a chocolate mousse with rose cream.
A made-from-scratch cake sold at Bee Kind Bakery and Catering in Dunsmuir. The eatery, art store and community gathering spot opened in 2023.
A recent Earth Day-focused dinner encouraged people to talk about feeling “connect to earth or nature as a child and what happened to that magic,” said Lisa Conine, who works at Bee Kind helping with the events, serving customers in the bakery and teaching yoga classes at the restaurant.
Black is a Dunsmuir High School graduate who has owned catering firms in Seattle and Mount Shasta, where she now lives. Her husband, Aaron Hoerber, is a Chico State-trained multimedia artist who grew up in Redding.
“We left for a couple of decades, but we found our way back,” said Black.
Mount Shasta wife and husband Brandy Black and Aaron Hoerber are shown at their restaurant, Bee Kind Bakery and Catering, in Dunsmuir.
If you go: Bee Kind Bakery and Catering
-
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
-
Address: 5853 Sacramento Ave., Dunsmuir
-
Cost: Frittata ($7.50), biscuits ($5.50), breakfast sandwich ($9). Sunday-only cinnamon rolls ($7.50). Special monthly prix fixe dinner menu served certain Sundays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost is $70 per person. Call the restaurant for dates and menus, information also announced on Instagram. Advance reservations only. Wine and beer available.
Michele Chandler covers public safety, dining and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at [email protected]. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: This artsy, funky, cafe in downtown Dunsmuir is the place to ‘Bee’
