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OUR STORY

Local Thyme Bakery

Your Neighborhood Micro-bakery

At Local Thyme Bakery, we are committed to delivering creative, seasonal food derived from the highest quality ingredients.  Each offering is considered a loaf of integrity and mixed, shaped and baked by Caleb Fortney.  In all ways, food should remain fun while being used as a vehicle to inspire change.  Our vision remains one where we uphold the utmost respect for our craft, making decisions that aim to preserve our environment.

Micro bakery including two commercial ovens, a commercial mixer and proofer and boos wooden workbench
Caleb working with focaccia dough

Caleb Fortney, chef / baker

Caleb started his career in Springfield, Illinois working for late-chef Caitie Barker, owner and operator of Caitie Girls – a restaurant premised on local flavors and supporting its fellow farmers and makers.  It was here that Caleb was exposed to French cuisine using high-quality, seasonal ingredients with a mission to deliver creative dishes and finding ways to eliminate food waste.  

Years later, he made the switch to Maldaner’s – a historic landmark in Springfield, Illinois established in 1884.  He worked under owner and chef Mike Higgins, where he continued to echo and strengthen his French application to food, including the focus of a rotating menu with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.  Beyond the collaboration with local farmers, Maldaner’s believed in sustainability, growing some of their own herbs and produce, including multiple beehives for honey to be used in their creations.  

From there, Caleb moved to work in several restaurants in Chicago and received the opportunity to travel to Paris, France.  It was here that he perused the french markets, restaurants, and boulangeries – he returned home with a newfound appetite of creating something more.  Now, living in Pensacola, Caleb looks forward to creating offerings that serve as a love letter to his past.  His approach to food is to let the ingredients shine by focusing on locally sourced, organic products.  He believes that Pensacola deserves stellar sourdough and pastry and he looks forward to continue sharing a sliver of his world with the Gulf Coast.

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