The Columbia Bakehouse brings sweet and savory

Those who haven't grabbed an item (or four) at The Columbia Bakehouse in Rainier are missing out and so are their tastebuds.The Columbia Bakehouse opened its doors in August 2024 and is a woman-owned, family-operated bakery specializing in cookies, bread, pies and pastries.

This store is the first for owners Saleenna Hehn and Brien Boggs; however, most of Hehn's 35 years baking and pastry career itself have been spent designing bakeries and products for nationwide retailers and large manufacturers.

"I was a product developer for national grocery chains," said Hehn. "If you've eaten a pie in a grocery store, I've probably had some development opportunity with it. I launched national programs for natural grocers and developed programs for national grocery stores, like the cookie bar that everybody loves.".

Hehn has helped open bakeries in a range of cities across the United States, including Austin, Boise, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, British Columbia and Portland. This experience came in handy when the opportunity to open up her first physical retail store presented itself.

"We moved to Deer Island in 2020, and one of the biggest things we noticed was there were no bakeries, and saw a huge opportunity to bring some cool stuff to the community," Hehn said. "We started with an at-home business for Thanksgiving and Christmas with a couple of pop ups in 2023, but the county shut us down for zoning rules."

Hehn then started looking at commercial real estate offerings and saw the news that Birdie's Divine Delights was closing up shop and reached out.

"I was actually up in Seattle working, and I saw Birdie's post that she was retiring, and it was like a Seinfeld episode, right," said Hehn. "I called her and said, 'I'm so sorry you're retiring, but what about the space,' and it worked out."

The Columbia Bakehouse offers a range of staples but also a rotating cast of seasonal goodies, both savory and sweet, and incorporates in-house-made jams, jellies, pickles, and syrups whenever possible.

"Our most popular items are our sourdough breads," said Hehn. "That's the heart and soul of the bakery, is our bread. We do focaccia and baguettes, laminate pastries like danishes, our cinnamon buns, our brioche, and then we do all kinds of different stuff. Pies, of course, are huge, and we have a grab-and-go refrigerated section."

The grab-and-go section features various pot pies, cake slices, party rolls and platters, a variety of cold beverages and, most recently, sandwiches. The storefront also features products from local artisans.

"We get a majority of our produce from Rainier Garden Farms," said Hehn. "We happily support and love to pour Fern Hill coffee, roasted right here in Rainier." We have also bouquets from Rainier Garden Farms. The honey that we sell and use in all our baked goods is Your Northwest Honey, and we also have mugs from local artist Pat Brane."

The Columbia Bakehouse is located at 126 W. B St. in Rainier and is open Thursday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (971) 328-5018 or visit the website at http://www.thecolumbiabakehouse.com.