By Carol Bolden
Golden Seventh-day Adventist Church member Dianna Shull opened Our Daily Bread Vegetarian Bakery and Deli on December 11, 2016, in Lakewood, Colorado, fulfilling a lifelong dream. “I’m exhausted,” Dianna exclaims, “but in a good way!” The excitement she feels at owning her own bakery and deli is evident in her voice.
As a small girl, Dianna began grinding her own wheat, baking bread and sharing the finished product with others. As an adult, she spent time as head cook at a self-supporting school in Laurelbrook, Tennessee, and again as head cook for Mount Etna’s blind camp in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“My training was in the school of hard knocks.” Dianna explains.
Knowing she wanted to open a bakery, Dianna’s son, a business owner himself, began looking for property and Dianna began praying that the Lord would make it possible if His desire was for her to run a bakery—but it had to be His doing.
Then her son found their current property and wanted her to have a look. The place had to be gutted, but her son took care of everything, bringing in people to do the remodel. When it came time to equip the place, she prayed again, asking for good prices. They looked at used equipment, but didn’t find the specialty items they needed.
After checking with three establishments selling used equipment, they found nothing. By the time they reached home, however, a man at one of those places had left a voicemail saying, “You’re not going to believe this, but . . .”
All the equipment they were looking for—big grinder, big oven, big mixer, slicer, etc.—had appeared on the Internet while he was looking. And all for a total cost of $15,000. The drive to Montrose for such a good deal was not a problem.
Each day so far, the bakery has seen 30-40 customers and the numbers continue to increase. Situated near the federal building where many state employees work and next door to Lakewood High School, the potential clientele seems boundless.
One student who visited this week told Dianna that he belonged to a vegan club. He took a photo of the sign out front and posted it to his Facebook page. Then another vegan club member took a photo of the soup she ordered and posted it to her Facebook page. Dianna doesn’t com- plain about the free advertising.
“This is God’s ministry, not mine,” declares Dianna. “Do I need to make money? Yes, but the important part is the ministry. Since the health message is the right arm of the gospel, we’re trying to get the message out.”
“I’ve always been interested in nutrition,” she explains, and “I’ll eventually offer classes in bread baking and easy, healthful meals.” She plans to bring in speakers, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who will talk about heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes.
Dianna’s only helper quit soon after they opened, so she’s extremely busy keeping up with all the demands. Yet, her family, friends and church members continue to support her, offering to do bookkeeping, cleaning, working the cash register—all free of charge. “I’m blessed with a wonderful support system!” she exclaims.
Our Daily Bread is open Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Carol Bolden is RMC administrative assistant for communication.