Beloved breadmobile returning to Lynwood Center

On Tuesday, I reported on the city cracking down on a breadmobile that’s been selling artisan bread and pastries from a Lynwood Center parking lot. If you haven’t yet, read the story here.

The breadmobile’s predicament sparked quite a response from its fans, from Kitsap Sun readers and from Treehouse Cafe owner Arnie Sturham, who announced today that breadmobile driver/bread seller Elliott Yakush is welcome to set up shop in a corner of Treehouse starting Monday.

Rumor has it a Seattle TV station has caught wind and is on its way.

Until then, you can read on (below) for my update on the breadmobile saga.

Thanks to a friendly neighbor, the Pane d’Amore breadmobile is heading back to Lynwood Center.

This time, though, bread seller Elliott Yakush won’t be handing out fresh loafs through the breadmobile’s cargo doors.

Starting Monday, he’ll be setting up a bread-laden table inside Lynwood Center’s Treehouse Cafe.

“It’s just the neighborly thing to do,” said Treehouse owner Arnie Sturham, who offered up a corner of his restaurant after Yakush learned on Monday that operating a mobile business violated Bainbridge city code.

For the last two months, Yakush has parked and sold bread outside Treehouse and a next-door retail space he plans to open as a branch of his family’s Port Townsend-based bakery.

“We’re going to be right next door to each other, so helping them out is just the right thing to do,” Sturham said. “They’ve gotten a good following in a short amount of time, so it’s probably good for us, too.”

Yakush’s customers were sometimes lined up before he arrived in Lynwood Center, and he typically sold out in a few hours.

He plans to sell bread in Treehouse from 1 to 4 p.m. every Monday until his storefront bakery opens in February.

“This is a great solution for us,” Yakush said. “And it’s nice too because I’ll be out of the cold.”