When Tracy Fleming started her first catering business, there was no social media.
“It was word of mouth and a little bit of advertising and treat your clients really well because you need to keep them,” Fleming remembered.
So, she “cracks up” at the fact that because of social media, two women appeared at her gate a couple of months ago who had driven four hours to visit The Bakery Farmstand.
“They were so excited. They’ve been following me on Instagram for two years, and then they got in their car from San Diego,” she continued. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ It was so sweet. I loved it, so that makes me happy.”
Start your weekend here
Place orders by Wednesdays at 5 p.m. to pick up at The Bakery Farmstand. Email tracy@thebakeryfarmstand.com to pre-order off the weekly menu or request gluten-free options. Grab your goods on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The stand is located near the corner of Santa Barbara and Olivet avenues in Los Olivos. Visit thebakeryfarmstand.com for more.
Fleming and her husband, Glenn Landon, opened The Bakery Farmstand on their Los Olivos property in 2013. It started with a table in the driveway and a “guerrilla marketing” chalkboard sign out front. One still stands today.
The Bakery Farmstand’s first summer looked different than it does today, but the concept remains the same: serving freshly baked goods to visitors near and far from her rustic backyard on Saturday mornings.
‘Seeing all the parents with their little kids who can run around and get dirty and pet the cat, talk to the dog, … the lovely retirees sitting around a table laughing. That really makes me happy, too.’
—Tracy Fleming, The Bakery Farmstand owner
This season—each typically lasts from March to December—she implemented a couple of new elements. She made permanent an art table for kids (and grown-ups) covered with butcher paper and set with markers, crayons, and stickers.
Landon also finished building The Pantry. It holds children’s books by a local author, paintings created by artists in the area, The Bakery Farmstand coffee mugs and T-shirts, and more.
“It’s way more than I thought I needed, but now I love it,” Fleming said.
She’s worked her way through many scenes within the Central Coast culinary industry, from attending pastry school to being a chef at UC Santa Barbara sorority houses to running a cookie and marshmallow company alongside her mom.
Now in her “retirement,” The Bakery Farmstand is a perfect gig. Fleming gets to work out of her home and curate a weekly menu of goods that excites her, using fresh, local produce.
Often, the menu lists quiches with rotating options for fillings, muffins, homemade Pop-Tarts, a breakfast casserole, scones, and pies, Fleming’s soft spot.
“I love pie. Pie is one of my most favorite things. It was one of the few desserts my mother would actually make when we were growing up,” the baker said.
Whole pies are available for pre-orders and so are cookie dough, loaf cakes, marshmallows, and granola. However, visitors can also show up on Saturday to snack on whatever Fleming has on the menu. She suggests arriving early to have more choices. Beverages might include lemonade, chocolate milk, and Landon’s famous coffee.
“My husband is the coffee guy,” Fleming said. “I take no credit. Everyone loves the coffee.”
She serves beverages in vintage teacups she collected during her catering days. Collection bins wait for dirty dishes when customers finish their last sips.
“It’s really simple, rustic. It’s not complex,” Fleming said.
After a long career, Fleming feels that landing at The Bakery Farmstand is where she’s meant to be.
“I have 30-plus years of experience in food service, but it still felt weird not to go borrow money, not to rent a building, not to have a business plan,” Fleming said.
It’s easier than catering, which required a van and additional staff members to help build a kitchen at random, inconvenient spots in LA. It’s also easier than finalizing plans to buy a brick-and-mortar. All the host has to do, which is still no small feat, is walk some platters from her home to the outdoor setup, put them on the counter, open the gates, and chat with everyone who comes through.
The idea is to spend a peaceful Saturday morning with community members while eating good food and drinking good tea and coffee. A Solvang retirement home takes regular field trips to The Bakery Farmstand, and a lot of young families pass through, too.
Fleming has heard that nearby vacation rentals list her business as something to do in the area. Customers also include international interns who work at the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center down the road.
Fleming and Landon are happy to keep the crowd local. They want to avoid becoming too much of a trendy Instagram spot.
“Seeing all the parents with their little kids who can run around and get dirty and pet the cat, talk to the dog,” Fleming said. “The lovely retirees sitting around a table laughing. That really makes me happy, too. I have to say, it’s still such a compliment creating a space where someone enjoys coming on a regular basis. Delightful.”
People often ask Fleming how early she wakes up to prepare everything.
“Tuesday!” she replies.
That’s when she does her supply and grocery run. Wednesdays she gets help from an employee to make crusts for pies and quiches, as well as the Pop-Tart bottoms and bulk cookie dough. Thursdays she does more production on her own, and then gets help on Fridays to package everything up.
“On Saturday mornings we just get up. We’re warming up the quiche, slicing it. Warming up the scones and glazing them. Slicing up the breakfast casserole, and then just getting everything out to the farm stand,” Fleming said.
When the clock hits 8:30 a.m., the first visitors start flocking through the gates, grabbing their food and drinks, sitting in the warm sunshine, and enjoying the company. Dogs take their own seats beneath tables, and children search for Fleming’s dachshund to pet.
Then, at noon, Fleming closes shop and begins preparing for next Saturday.
Catch Staff Writer Madison White at The Bakery Farmstand or send her an email at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in July 30 – August 6, 2026.
