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About Pagosa Baking Company
We Love Food, and We Love What We Do
Our Mission
Pagosa Baking Company's mission is to create and share hand crafted baked goods, nourishing meals and celebratory fare utilizing locally sourced organic ingredients as much as possible; provide personal proactive and responsive customer service; nurture strong beneficial relationships with and among our staff, customers, vendors, business partners, and the community at large; cultivate a growing dynamic business that functions profitably, contributing to a vibrant economic climate in our community.
About Kathy
Kathy Keyes, Executive Chef and Owner, baked her first cake at the age of 5 and has not stopped since. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a degree in nutrition and food science, and worked in clinical nutrition for 10 years. Kathy's passion for fine food led her to L'Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland, where she graduated from the professional pastry program in 1992. While a student at L'Academie, Kathy received mentoring from Les Dames des Ecoffier, an organization of women chefs and food professionals. Kathy has worked as a pastry chef at the Morrison Clark Inn, and Sweet Surrender Bakery and as bread baker at Marvelous Market, all in Washington, D.C. She honed her high altitude skills at The Peaks at Telluride and Isabel's in Pagosa Springs.
Kathy's passion for bread led her to open Pagosa Baking Company in 2001. The artisan breads and fine pastries at Pagosa Baking Company have earned a dedicated local following, and a regional reputation. She is proud to be celebrating 10 years of Great Food and Great Service at Pagosa Baking Company.
Kathy is past president of the Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce, and is a founding member of the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership. Kathy is active in a volunteer team working to expand the use of geothermal in Pagosa Springs.
 About Kirsten
Growing up in a family of eight children, Kirsten learned at an early age the value of teamwork and organization. She applied those lessons at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. After her active duty service, Kirsten began work at Fannie Mae in computer technology. Kirsten earned her MBA at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She guides the financial and business side of the business.
Kirsten takes great pride in Pagosa Baking Company's offerings of the finest coffee and espresso drinks found anywhere. With a commitment to local sourcing and sustainability, Kirsten chose Durango's Desert Sun Coffees. Kirsten was the shop's first barista and continues to improve her skills.
Kirsten is a long time board member of Archuleta County Housing Authority and is a volunteer driver with the American Cancer Society. She is active in a volunteer team working to expand the use of geothermal in Pagosa Springs.
About Our Building
Built in 1906 as a two-room cabin, the only recognizable feature of the original building is the fireplace. 238 Pagosa Street has served as a private residence, boot and saddle shop, gun shop and antique shop. In 1997, the former owner remodeled to unify the look of the building into the current style. In 2001 we bought the building and in 2004 Pagosa Baking Company doubled the foot print, adding a commercial kitchen and upstairs apartment. 2011 improvements include opening up interior space to improve traffic flow, and adding a front patio to accommodate outdoor dining. We're connected to the geothermal district heating system, which heats the building, and melts snow from the east sidewalk.
History of Pagosa Baking Company
Pagosa Baking Company started out of the back of our car. In 1999, Kathy started making her European style sourdough breads at home for friends, and over the months was invited to sell her products in local retail stores. We converted part of our garage into a commercial kitchen in December 2000, with the intention of a wholesale bread business. With encouragement from our future down town neighbors, we purchased our building in June of 2001 and opened the retail shop in July of 2001. Production continued in our garage kitchen till March of 2004, when we completed an addition to accommodate an onsite kitchen and apartment. This afforded us the opportunity to expand our offerings to include breakfast burritos, soups, and sandwiches. We now hold cooking, baking and decorating classes in the kitchen, and have room to process local produce to use in our salads and fruit pies.
Pagosa Baking Company in the Community
Pagosa Baking Company is a proud sponsor of Hospice of Mercy's Soup for the Soul. We support Relay for Life, 9 Health Fair, The Humane Society, Four Corners Folk Festival, Archuleta County Fair, Loaves and Fishes and many other community organizations. We are an original vendor in the Pagosa Springs Farmer's Market, and you'll find their board meeting at the bakery. We're a meeting place for community groups, a familiar stop for regional travelers, a favorite spot for 2nd home owners and annual vacationers. And our organic kitchen waste feeds kitchen manager Twila Brown's pigs, and the town community garden compost.
Friends of Pagosa Baking Company
At Pagosa Baking Company we make every effort to tap the incredible products and services found here in Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County and the great state of Colorado. Local artists Donna Merchant Crooks and Karina Silver have created furnishings and wall coverings for us. We carry hand made greeting cards by Dominique Skeehan (Kirsten's sister) and Peggy Bergon. We are the original retailer for local favorite Enchanted Valley Farms pestos and spreads. Our breads are made from Rocky Mountain Milling organic Colorado flours. We serve Artemesia Botanicals chai, and retail a variety of their teas. Local author Tess Challis sells her popular cook books here, and occasionally teaches cooking classes. Rhubarb for our famous pies comes from local home gardens. Summertime salads, herbs and vegetables are grown right up the road by local organic grower Elly Heitkamp. LazEwe 2 Bar Ranch makes a variety of goat cheese you'll find in our refrigerated case. Jill of Russia House has created wonderful reusable linen bread bags. We retail Dessert Sun Coffee, Rocky Mountain Peanutbutter and Zuberfizz sodas, all of Durango. Mancos Honey has become a very popular item. Our freezer case holds meats and sausages from two local producers; Grass Roots Meats and Gosar Ranch Sausages.
Green
PBC recycles! Cardboard, plastic, aluminum, paper and metal cans. We heat our building using the local geothermal heat. We use compostable and paper cups, and collect kitchen waste for composting as well. We use many locally sourced products, cutting down on delivery distances.
The Pagosa Baking Company Team
Are you interested in joining the Pagosa Baking Company team? Do you love good food? Do you enjoy working in a fast paced environment? If you answered yes to these questions, contact us at 970-264-9348.
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