State Flour Bakery has been slinging artisan sourdough loaves and croissants in a small South Tampa strip mall since 2022. In January, the neighborhood bakery with a “Star Wars” theme will expand its rebellion against bad bread to Lutz.
Owners Alex Marsilio and Alex Flannery are moving State Flour from its South Dale Mabry Highway storefront, which is about 500 square feet, to 18450 U.S. 41, a 4,000-square-foot space that most recently housed Black Sheep American Pub. They got the keys to the spot in mid-September.
The move will usher in a new era for the bakery near MacDill Air Force Base that draws customers from Sarasota to Wesley Chapel.
The larger Lutz location allows for “much bigger production,” Marsilio said. State Flour bakes out of its next-door neighbor, Pro Kitchen Hub. Though the bakery’s footprint inside the shared commercial kitchen for up-and-coming food businesses has grown over the years, Flannery said they can’t expand much more there.
It also allows State Flour to add a full bar and chef-driven eats with elevated ingredients to complement its fresh-baked breads, croissants and other pastries, as well as more seating.
According to Marsilio, Black Sheep had over 100 seats, but he and Flannery are considering splitting up the space differently: bakery on one side, bar/coffee bar on the other.
Flannery said they want to focus on weekend brunch with more plated dishes and alcohol to start, then eventually open in the evenings and serve bar bites.
“We see it, I’ve always said, more like a chef-driven Panera Bread,” Flannery said. “We want to add soup, salad, sandwiches and all the pastries that we normally do. ... We’ve been dying to make sandwiches on our bread for a while.”
There’s a silver lining for South Tampa breadheads. The business partners said they plan to maintain a presence in the area through another small retail shop, one supplied by the Lutz location.
And that might be just the beginning.
“We have a ton of people asking us to come to different areas. So we’re like, OK, well maybe we can sustain little storefronts out of one main location, like have a commissary that we build up there and sustain other locations. That’s kind of our plan,” Flannery said.
Flannery and Marsilio are Tampa hospitality veterans. They met in 2003 as part of the opening crew for Splitsville in Channelside and stayed in touch while bouncing around to different places.
Marsilio went the front-of-house route, managing hotels and building their bar and beverage programs. He worked at the Epicurean Hotel for five years and has spent time as a hotel food and beverage consultant. Flannery has experience as a pastry chef in fine-dining restaurants like Bern’s Steak House and the former SideBern’s. He was a chef on private yachts for over a decade. In 2022, the duo decided it was time to launch something together.
State Flour got its start at Pro Kitchen Hub. Marsilio and Flannery rented space to bake and vend from the hub’s Bakery Box Pop-Up window, often selling out. Seeking more space and to set their own hours, they expanded in 2023 next door, where the bakery’s selection of sourdough-centric goodies now beckons customers.
“It’s been cool to see the growth from the beginning, starting out in, like, a little tiny window and now having lines out the door sometimes on Saturdays and Sundays,” Marsilio said.
The chocolate and pistachio croissants and the kouign-amann (a classic French pastry with caramelized, flaky layers of buttery dough and a sweet crust) are guest favorites, according to Flannery. A bicolor technique that the chef said he didn’t see many Tampa bakeries doing when they were opening State Flour creates eye-catching ribbons of green and red, respectively, for the pistachio croissant — stuffed with pistachio diplomat cream and topped with white chocolate pistachio ganache and toasted pistachios — and its guava counterpart with a housemade guava jam and whipped cream cheese filling.
You’ll find other treats such as scones, muffins, cookies and two kinds of quiche, including one baked into a golden crust with a rich egg custard, aged manchego cheese, bacon, ham and housemade chorizo.
On the bread side, jalapeno cheddar and garlic and olive varieties join State Flour’s rustic sourdough and a new organic loaf.
“It’s all naturally fermented,” Marsilio said. “There’s no shortcuts.”
The bakery occasionally throws in specials to flex its creativity. Halloween season has brought the return of a festive bicolor croissant featuring activated charcoal dough — all filled with pumpkin spice pastry cream and white chocolate pumpkin ganache and topped with toasted meringue and a little candy corn pumpkin.
Guests can expect more specials in Lutz. Flannery said he and Marsilio have a long list of ideas and items they’ve wanted to put out. Don’t be surprised if you see a hot Cheeto croissant on offer. Same goes for more grab-and-go and take-and-bake options.
Before the move in January, customers will be able to preorder Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies like pies and different styles of bread for pickup in November and December at State Flour’s South Tampa storefront.
Huge fans of a galaxy far, far away, Marsilio and Flannery showcase their “Star Wars” memorabilia from home throughout State Flour. What began as a spontaneous decor choice has become part of the bakery’s brand and a way for it to connect with customers, with some guests contributing collectibles for the owners to display.
“It starts conversation. It gets us involved with, like, the community and the people coming in. ... I think it will be kind of an underlying theme of our bakery moving forward,” Marsilio said.
The pair envision the Lutz location having an industrial look that nods to the “Star Wars” aesthetic subtly.
Flannery said they’re excited about Lutz. From what they’ve heard from a neighbor up there, the community is, too. There aren’t a lot of bakeries near State Flour’s new spot, Marsilio said.
“It sounds like everybody’s really excited because they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re going to put a bakery there? Oh, man.’ The area we’re going to, it seems like a really great spot for that,” Flannery said.
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