When Louisiana native Abby Love opened Abby Jane Bakeshop in Dripping Springs, she wanted the place to be a beloved neighborhood bakery. Three years later, she thinks she’s accomplished that.

Meet the owner

While in school and without any experience, Love got a job at a local bakery where she discovered her love for baking. She moved to Austin in 2013 after leaving graduate school and gained more experience as a pastry chef at Dai Due, a local restaurant in East Austin.

When Barton Springs Mill opened in 2016, the owner, James Brown, approached Love about opening up a bakery to showcase the mill’s product.

Love said Abby Jane Bakeshop opened because she just kept taking the next step until, eventually, she had a business plan. After years of organizing and buying equipment, they were ready to open in 2020 until the pandemic brought everything to a halt.


Love said they opened as soon as they could in January 2021.

“Sometimes I'm like, ‘How, how is it that I'm the adult in charge here?” Love said. “But I'm extremely proud of it and the team here. Everybody here loves what we make and takes so much pride in doing what we do, and I just feel overwhelmed with gratitude all the time.”

What’s special about it?

Love said Abby Jane Bakeshop’s mission is to serve as the gateway to sustainable and healthy eating. Since the bakery is inside of a mill, all of the menu items are baked fresh daily using local, stone-ground flour.


Other ingredients, such as the pork sourced from Fredericksburg used for ham and cheese croissants, are local. Love said being part of the local economy is important.

“We're not going to get people buying these flours or buying products from these stone-milled flours if it tastes like health food or if it tastes like you're being responsible,” Love said. “It should taste like you should want this cinnamon roll or this croissant over the highly processed one if this is going to work.”

What else?

Abby Jane Bakeshop is open Thursday-Sunday, and eventually Love would like to extend the bakery’s hours. Otherwise, you can find her and members of her team as guest instructors teaching classes, such as pizza making or intro to sourdough bread, next door at Barton Springs Mill.