As many long time residents of Atwater Village are aware, Proof Bakery is not the first bakery to inhabit 3156 Glendale Blvd. As proven by our infamous oven, the building has housed one bakery or another for many years. Unfortunately, tracking the exact history and notable dates of the space is proving even more challenging than working with croissant dough in this unseasonably warm weather. So we present to you what we know: An abridged history.
According to the fine city of Los Angeles, the building was built in the early 1920s and encompassed the entire space taken up by what is now Bill's Liquor, Box Brothers & Proof. The building was divided as early as the 1940s and the Rollin' Pin Bake Shop was created
by Art & Anne Sluis in 1962. They quickly drew faithful followers with 45 cent coffee, 35 cent donuts & 50 cent danish. We can only assume that the Sluis' were responsible for placing the oven in the bakery as well. The pictures from this entry were taken in 1982 when the bakery was celebrating it's 20th anniversary.
The now successful Rollin' Pin was bought in 1984 by a German baker with 30 years' experience. Wolf Dalichau ironically dropped "The Rollin' Pin" while keeping "The Dutch American Bakery", as this was the colloquial title it had acquired over the years. Wolf proliferated the ever popular mocha cake and word spread about the dutch crunch bread. It has been rumored that people came from as far away as San Diego for these regional specialties. Wolf also contributed to the bakery's history by expanding the back of the bakery out to the parking lot to accommodate more storage & refrigeration for his growing business. He sold the bakery sometime around 2003, and has since gone on to form another successful bakery, also named The Dutch American Bakery, in Stockton, CA.
The bakery was bought in 2002 by longtime employee Toni, who gave nod to its early heritage by naming the bakery Toni's Rollin' Pin. During this time the bakery began to respond to the growing need for a lunch program. Paninis and outdoor seating appeared, and the bakery began to put more emphasis on custom cakes.
In 2009 the bakery was sold to Viktor Benes, the in-store bakery found at all Gelson's Markets. With 16 other locations, a myriad of new pastries, cookies, and breads filled the display cases. Alligator bread became a neighborhood favorite, and a bright selection of specialty cakes were made available daily.
About a year later, Proof Bakery purchased the business and decided to take a new approach. The neighborhood has been through as many changes in recent years as the bakery itself, and the locals were asking for a different concept. After a few updates to a dated kitchen, a few months of intensive recipe testing, and more than a few fresh coats of paint, Proof opened on November 19th, 2010. As we approach our 6 month anniversary, we are happy to say that we have stuck to our mission statement; we utilize farmer's market produce, organic butter and a traditional old world approach to production to supply hand crafted French-style pastries to our neighbors. Locavores & Foodies abound on Glendale Blvd these days. Rumors are swirling throughout the neighborhood about fresh markets & new restaurants opening this year, and Atwater Village is slowly but surely gaining a solid foothold in a beautiful movement.
