55 years ago Emil Tosi bought the bakery equipment from the closing of The Whitcomb Hotel in downtown St. Joseph. He renovated a cabin on the Tosi property and called his baker friend, Hans Kottman, and said, “The Bakery is ready!” Kottman opened Bit of Swiss Pastry Shoppe in 1967.
In 1987 Pat and Tim Foley purchased the bakery and have owned it for the last 35 years. Having met in San Francisco in culinary school, the two made their way to Stevensville making the transition from aspiring chefs to aspiring bakers.
Tim Foley says It is now time for the Foleys to step away from Bit of Swiss Pastry Shoppe. The new owners, Jessica and Jose “Pepe” Hernandez are no strangers to the baking industry or Bit of Swiss. The Hernandez couple also met in California at Metropolis Baking Company of Berkeley in 1997,
Jessica says it was “love at first site.” Pepe, an excellent baker, taught Jessica how to hand-shape and bake loaves in this high-volume bakery. Their resumes are filled with baking experience from acclaimed bakeries such as Metropolis, Grace Baking Company, Donsuemor, Noe Valley Bakery, and Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor.
Pepe’s passion has always been baking bread. He has led the Bit of Swiss team of Bread Bakers, and has also run the production of all breakfast pastry for the last 16 years.
Jessica has been at BOS for 8 years in cake/pastry production, working with long-time Pastry Chef Teresa Hunt. Jessica has also been slowly taking over the business side of Bit of Swiss.
Tim Foley commented, “Bit of Swiss has been fortunate over the years to employ hard-working, dedicated staff since our humble beginnings of baking the “Tosi Rye Bread,” Tim reflected. “We are now baking over 20 varieties of breads along with all of our cakes, pastries, and breakfast selections.”
The Foleys have always maintained the focus on quality, along with employing hard-working, fun employees.
“We will still be involved with the bakery, helping in any way we can,” Tim stated. “We are so fortunate to have Pepe and Jessica Hernandez lead Bit of Swiss into the future.”
The Foleys are also the owners of ‘bread+bar’, casual upscale dining on Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor. The restaurant is not involved in today’s announced transaction.
