Breads and boards to be focal points of unique new business headed to Tacoma this year

Working with their hands has become a way of life for Leanne and Paul Franetovich, and soon they will share their vision of how two complementary passions can coexist under one roof.

Jack + Adeline will open in downtown Tacoma later this year as a dual-concept retail space: in what for years was Grit City Comedy Club, she will bake rustic sourdough breads and pastries, and, in what was Malarkey’s Pool & Brew, he will build furniture and kitchenware, especially cutting and serving boards, made from slabs of salvaged wood.

While the wood shop will double as a showroom, the bakery will also function as a cafe, with indoor and outdoor seating — the tables, of course, built by Paul Franetovich — and a collection of packaged goods including meats and cheeses, wine and cider, coffee, tea and cutting boards.

“Everything you need to put together a pretty awesome dinner party,” said Leanne Franetovich.

She has been baking every weekend in a commissary kitchen in Seattle, accepting pre-orders online for Sunday pickup at the Point Ruston Public Market, where her husband has also sold his wares since last summer.

The forthcoming opening of The Mill, as they have nicknamed the downtown concept, marks the third-way point of a 10-year journey for the couple, who swapped South Florida for the South Sound four years ago.

“Leanne is much more impulsive than me,” laughed Paul Franetovich, who has spent most of the past two decades in the corporate world, most recently at Xerox.

On their first date, he said, they discovered a mutual desire to visit Seattle and the Pacific Northwest and subsequently made it their honeymoon destination. Shortly thereafter, they sold their house in Boca Raton and moved to Gig harbor, then Tacoma, where both delved deeper into their respective crafts.

Jack and Adeline, for hearth and home

A home baker, Leanne Franetovich dabbled in gluten-free breads in search of a more digestible alternative to store-bought loaves. At Seattle cooking school The Pantry, she gleaned the benefits of non-commodity grains and left with a sourdough starter, now a few years old, that she calls Howard.

“It ferments into this amazing bubbly gooey magic,” she explained. “Now the Howard that I have is fully cultivated to our environment.”

The resulting breads start with the foundation of a country sourdough built from a combination of high-protein and wholewheat flour, plus a bit of rice flour and of course wild yeast, water and salt. From there, Leanne Franetovich explores add-ins including seeds, Kalamata olives and roasted garlic. A winter seasonal featured dried apricots and walnuts, and recently she created one with dandelion greens pesto.

She also appreciates the heartiness that ancient grains like spelt can offer, and per customer request, now sells croissants, large and buttery to the point that when split open and toasted provide an apt setting for more butter and jam.

“I try not to be boring!” she said. “Really the gut-health portion of making it is really what fascinated me second to the process of it. How the body breaks it down, and the fermentation process starts digestion for you, the lactic acid breaks down into sugars — it’s just a science experiment every time I do it.”

Due to the commissary kitchen not having a deck oven, she currently bakes in a Dutch oven. At The Mill, she will move up in the bakery ranks, with an open kitchen setup to allow visitors to catch some of the action — before or after strolling through Paul Franetovich’s studio.

“It’s home and hearth,” he explained. “It’s all about bringing people around the table around good food, and democratizing home decor. You can’t afford an 8-foot live-edge dining table, but I want to make it so they can.”

He will accept custom projects as well as showcase his own creations, based largely on the wood he carefully sources, has milled and lets dry before being kilned — a process that can take upwards of 18 months. Only then does he begin his preparation of sanding and wax finishing.

At Point Ruston and, from 2017-2019 at the Tacoma Farmers Market, items have stuck mostly with transportable items: serving and cutting boards made from maple, spalted oak, red cedar, and tropical woods such as Koa and Canary.

“We both have this deep-rooted love and interest in entertaining and having dinner parties,” said Leanne Franetovich.

Jack + Adeline, named after her grandfather the woodworker and his grandmother the baker, will, the couple hopes, help others share those moments with their families and friends.

JACK + ADELINE HEARTH + HOME / THE MILL TACOMA

▪ Details: targeting summer 2021 opening; bakery at 515 6th Ave., wood shop at 445 Tacoma Ave. S, jackandadeline.com

▪ Baked goods available now: order online by Tuesday for Sunday pickup at Point Ruston Public Market

▪ Homewares available now: view online and in-person at Point Ruston, Thursday and Sunday

This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 10:00 AM.