Rustic Bakery makes bread for Pope visit

Pope Francis may not have stopped in California on his recent visit to the U.S., but he got a taste of the Golden State anyway.

Pope Francis and his Vatican delegation snacked on organic flatbread and crostini from Rustic Bakery as they flew between Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia during the Sept. 22–27 visit.

The Larkspur-based bakery received the request for their olive oil Sel Gris flatbread and Rosemary Pan Forte crostini from airline catering giant LSG Sky Chefs, which had previously sent samples to the Vatican. The breads are regularly featured on a couple of domestic flights, according to Kim Parikh, Rustic’s operations manager.

As soon as the bakery received the request, it turned out 400 of the snacks for their papal customers. Since then, their popularity has surged.

“We’ve been getting a lot of publicity,” Parikh said. “People are asking for the ‘Pope crackers.’”

Since opening the business in 2005, owners Carol LeValley and Josh Harris have expanded to two locations in Larkspur and one in Novato. In November, they will open another cafe, in Tiburon. In mid-October, Rustic will move its San Rafael warehouse and wholesale production to 25,000 square feet of the former Barabara’s Bakery building in Petaluma.