Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Has Sneakily Opened a Seoul Location

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse has become a global brand on Instagram, and now the same is true of the store itself: The bakery quietly opened a second location in Seoul, South Korea last month. If it seems random to you, owner Aaron Caddell disagrees. "We have a huge crush on Seoul. There is this existential, rebellious spirit in the younger generation of the city that mirrors our own outlook as a brand," he told Eater. "We're leveraging our presence to test some new ideas and forecast the changes we want to bring to our brand." From the looks of the bakery’s shiny new Instagram account, the now-famous cruffins, doughnuts, cookies and more are all available, and in the bakery’s signature edgy digs.

Caddell is taking this opening slowly.

We are testing the assumptions of our model for growth before we forecast future plans. Craft baking is incredibly challenging and growing this kind of business isn't like coffee or other craft products. Ship a bag of coffee to New York and you'll be able to make great coffee. Ship a cruffin to New York, and you'll be looking for the nearest trash can. This doesn't mean craft bakeries can't grow, but it definitely explains why no one has yet to succeed in doing so without the substandard freeze and thaw process. If that's the only way for a craft bakery to grow, then we promise San Francisco to never open another location. We're in this for the carbs (and maybe to get baked), not to be Dunkin' Donuts.

Next up is Los Angeles, which is scheduled to get baked come March. As for SF, the spring menu is set to roll out shortly.