By Shane Mead | Staff Writer
While the world was on lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak, picking up a new hobby might have just been something to pass the time. Waco local S.J. DiCamillo picked up a hobby of baking and has stuck with it ever since.
“It all kind of started as, ‘How can I bless people in this season?'” DiCamillo said. “So I would bake loaves of bread and have people on Instagram nominate somebody who was going through the thick of life.”
These acts of generosity extended to close friends of hers, which former neighbor Michelle Leatherwood experienced firsthand.
“Every kid I’ve had, she would show up with sourdough or some beautiful treat,” Leatherwood said. “And she’s cooked for a lot of people in the city, just out of her heart and out of her passion. We knew one day, this girl would do something.”
Fast forward almost five years, and DiCamillo, with the help of her family, opened Millette Bread, a micro bakery right in the front yard of her house, using a stand they had built for one of their little ones’ first birthdays.
“It is our humble little stand, but it is something that we’re proud of,” DiCamillo said. “It’s fun and it just gives us an opportunity to share with others, neighbors, friends and really anybody that decides to follow along the journey.”
DiCamillo said she’s felt very fortunate throughout her journey to have such supportive neighbors during their time sharing backyard fences. She now feels as though her new micro bakery has presented opportunities to connect with the Waco community outside of her street.
“It’s already more people than we ever would have dreamed of being interested in [Millettte Bread],” DiCamillo said. “It’s truly been so humbling and beautiful to see the community and the people in it rally around what we’re doing.”
According to DiCamillo, customers can come every other Saturday for “bake day,” when the stand is open to the public. The next bake day is Feb. 22 and takes place during its typical hours: 9 a.m. to noon.
The reason for the infrequent hours is because her family is her number one priority, DiCamillo said. With four little ones, she wants to ensure they have their weekends to spend quality time together and maintain what’s important.
Nonetheless, it seems as though the infrequent hours make the bake days even more special for DiCamillo’s children.
“Whenever we have everything packaged, they get really excited because they’ll help me bring it out to the stand,” DiCamillo said. “It’s like Christmas morning to them.”
And while the joy on her kids’ faces is priceless, DiCamillo wants Millette Bread to instill values she says weren’t necessarily taught to her and her husband.
“I want them to understand the joy of hospitality,” she said. “It can be really life-giving, not only for the person that receives but for you. It’s more of a blessing to give than it even is to receive.”
Leatherwood said she also believes lessons can be learned through Millette Bread, but more specifically through DiCamillo by simply observing the actions she has taken in kickstarting her small business.
“S.J. is a woman who chose to be present in where she is, to love the city that she’s in and to love her neighbor,” Leatherwood said. “She is one of those people who is choosing to engage the opportunity in the city and do something about it. So I love that about her.”
She added that DiCamillo’s story of pursuing a passion and turning it into fruition serves as an example of how people can take action in their communities.
“I would hope that we would take her life as an example of ‘What is the light in front of you and what can you act on?'” she said. “Because there’s always opportunity, there’s always a gift in every season.”
With only one official bake day and a trial run under the DiCamillo family’s belt, the overwhelming support from neighbors and the community has them excited for what the future holds.
For those interested in attending the Feb. 22 bake day and beyond, DiCamillo requests her future customers to reach out for the address via direct message through the Millette Bread Instagram for privacy reasons.
