We have enjoyed taking our Short North Tour groups to Eleni Christina for the last two years. While it’s been fun having this small artisan bakery as ‘our-little-secret’ up to now, we are excited to announce that they are opening to the public as a baked goods retailer.
Eleni Christina was opened in 1994 by Kent and Tasi Rigsby and is named after their daughter. They started out making bread for Rigsby’s restaurant, including the signature sourdough that Rigsby’s has been serving since day one, but quickly expanded to make bread for two dozen other restaurants, shops and food trucks. The bakers, some of whom start work at 11pm are incredibly passionate about what they do, and it shows in the finished product.
All of the bread is baked fresh daily, mostly by hand, using 4 ovens. Everything is completely natural with no preservatives or stabilizers, and they like to say that all of the ingredients are ‘two syllables or less’. Their ‘pan ordinaire’ is made of flour, salt, yeast and water and it’s a great bread for making toast or sandwiches. If sourdough is more your thing, then you’ll be happy too; theirs is a fairly mild sourdough, again, great for sandwiches and lovely and soft. The multi-grain is made with a mix of 12 different grains and seeds as well as raisins and walnuts and a touch of cocoa (that you can’t taste) for color.
As well as their signature breads, Eleni Christina will be selling croissants, cookies, biscotti and pastries. They will also have a limited selection of sandwiches and coffee available for take-out. It’s a very small space so there’s no room for seating. It is conveniently located for Goodale Park, so perfect for picnicking on a nice day.
We can’t wait to try some of the new items. Here’s a preview of the menu:
Here’s the one I’m really looking forward to – the frangipane blueberry crostata with fresh blueberries and apricots. Gorgeous!
The official address of the Eleni Christina Bakery is 641 N High St but you will find the entrance tucked a block down Russell Street just to the west of High St. The sandwich board sign outside helps, but otherwise it’s easy to walk past and not even notice it. Some of you may remember when Bono Pizza operated out of the bakery in the evenings back in the summer of 2008 – that’s the place!
Eleni Christina Bakery
641 N High St
614.461.0021
Hours: Wed-Sat 9am-3pm (Grand Opening July 28th)
