Bobbi and Warren Burton have been pumping out baked goods at their local shop BurtoNZ Bakery in Windsor for more than five years. Their products have been tasted throughout the area in towns such as Cloverdale and Healdsburg and can be found in places like Amy’s Wicked Slush and Shelton’s Natural Food Market.
Locals know them for their delectable breads, savory New Zealand pies and rolls and their love for Sonoma County. They have showcased their work in various places like the farmer’s market in Cloverdale and have had a lot of interested customers looking for their products, however, the drive to Windsor is too much for some.
With their popularity expanding, the couple has decided to expand their products to Geyserville, “We thought it would be a good outlet for our products,” Bobbi said. By partnering with their business partner Kim Petersen in creating Geyserville Coffee Company, the Burtons will showcase their baked goods alongside a hot cup of joe brewed by Kim.
Bobbi was born in Woodland California, and met Warren while he was working in the Community for Agriculture Exchange Program. Bobbi decided to put her belongings into storage and move to New Zealand with Warren, where they lived for three years before settling back in Sonoma County. “You just decide you need to do something fun and exciting,” Bobbi said, “we were young and in love.” Warren, who puts the NZ in BurtoNZ Bakery, wanted to show Bobbi what his country was like. Bobbi says she loved how fun and adventurous everything was and that areas in Hawke’s Bay, where they lived, were similar to the rolling hills near Petaluma.
Warren wanted to come to California ever since he was a kid, for Disneyland and when he grew up, for the experiences he had when he visited Sonoma County. Warren had visited northern California before and was introduced to Sonoma County through his tour guide. After traveling around Napa, Warren had his first burrito and thought to himself, “Yup, I wanna live here someday.”
Back when the two met, Warren asked Bobbi where he could get a meat pie and Bobbi didn’t know what he was talking about. He explained it to her and the closest thing she said she could think of was a frozen Hot Pocket. When they started their life in New Zealand, the first place Warren took Bobbi was a little market that had the meat pies he grew up with.
Bobbi was a little nervous in trying it out, but became enamored of the bacon, steak and mushroom pies. In the slower paced life of Taradale Town District, New Zealand many bakeries only make a certain amount of products every morning. Bobbi said, “when they’re out, they’re out. If you’re not fast you might not get any pie at all.”
So, the couple would wake up early every Saturday morning to grab a load of cheese and bacon bread and pies and bring them back to eat with the parents. When Warren made his way back to New Zealand he had the desire to start baking so he went to his favorite bakery and asked them if he could work for them for free. “I’ll sign whatever you want, I’ve got a full time job working for my uncle at his vineyard,” Warren said, “I don’t want to steal any of your recipes I just want to learn how to bake.”
He worked there for six months and he said that it is where he got the passion for baking. When they returned to California, he went to the San Francisco Baking Institute. The Burtons had been cooking up the idea for a bakery for awhile and opened in 2013. Warren says that the key to making a “good ol’ kiwi steak n’ cheese pie” is the quality of the ingredients, New Zealand cheese and butter, and putting all your effort into the baking.
For the new coffee shop in Geyserville, Bobbi will be handling the financial aspect of the business, Warren will be baking and Kim will be brewing the beverages. For more updates visit the BurtoNZ Bakery page and the Geyserville Coffee Company page on Facebook.
