"Big shoes to fill." That is what restaurateur Ged Robertson remembers thinking when he took over the small space at 17 Madrona Street. He told Marin Magazine the story this August. The people who had just left those shoes empty were Chad Robertson and Elisabeth Prueitt. Their Bay Village Bakery had drawn lines on that side street near downtown. They closed in early 2002, crossed the bridge, and opened the first Tartine in San Francisco's Mission District.
On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, Tartine officially opened in Mill Valley again. The new café is at Strawberry Village, not downtown. And the room the founders left behind on Madrona Street now holds its own bakery, with a wood-fired oven. So Mill Valley has two serious bakeries a short drive apart, and their hours divide the week between them.
What happened at 17 Madrona after 2002
The founders' Mill Valley chapter was short. The Marin Independent Journal traces it this way. Robertson was the bread baker and Prueitt the pastry chef at Bay Village Bakery in Point Reyes Station starting in 1995. They moved downtown to Mill Valley in 1999 and closed in early 2002. Marin Magazine dates their move into 17 Madrona to 2000 and calls the stay "a too-quick, two years."
The address kept cooking after they left. According to Marin Magazine, another tenant came first. Then Ged Robertson opened Small Shed Flatbread around 2004, Molina in 2014, and later Bootjack, before selling to the current owners. Through all of it, the space kept a link to Alan Scott, the West Marin oven builder credited with reviving brick, wood-burning ovens. Scott helped finance Bay Village Bakery with a loan. He also built an oven for Ged Robertson, who told the magazine that Chad Robertson stopped by during construction with pizza dough tips. Those tips still shape the dough at Watershed.
In September 2023, Gemma Edward Aron and Nicola Carey opened Madrona Bakery at 17 Madrona. The original oven is gone. Its replacement, nicknamed Elvira, was built in the same style by Malcolm Chase, whom Marin Magazine calls an acolyte of Alan Scott.
What came back, and what stayed downtown
The new Tartine and the old address bake different things. In Mill Valley, Tartine bakes its pastries, cakes and savory dishes on site. The bread itself is baked in San Francisco. The 120-seat room, designed by Studio BBA, has floor-to-ceiling windows, blond wood tables and indoor-outdoor seating. It is the fourth Bay Area location of a brand that now runs seven cafés in the Los Angeles area and six in Seoul.
The wood-fired baking that started at 17 Madrona is still at 17 Madrona. Tartine's Mill Valley café carries the brand's history. The downtown space carries the craft, with Elvira working in the room where the country loaf first got its following.
Prueitt described the return to Marin Magazine as "a full circle moment," adding, "I'm so pleased to re-establish roots in Mill Valley." CEO Dar Vasseghi told the magazine that "People have been asking us for this for a long time." The magazine also floated the idea that Madrona might become "a crosstown rival." Based on the posted hours, the two bakeries mostly complement each other.
The week, split in two
Madrona Bakery's current schedule has it closed Monday through Wednesday. It opens 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tartine Mill Valley is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.
| Day | Madrona Bakery, 17 Madrona St. | Tartine, Strawberry Village |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Closed | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Closed | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Friday | 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Saturday | 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Sunday | 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
Three days a week, Tartine is the only one of the two that is open. On Thursday and Friday, Madrona opens half an hour earlier. On every day both are open, Tartine stays an hour later. Madrona's ordering policy fits its shorter week. Its FAQ says "pre-orders must be placed one day in advance" and warns that popular items like almond croissants can sell out. A Thursday morning almond croissant downtown starts with a Wednesday order. A Tuesday morning bun has one option.
Why Strawberry Village keeps going after the bakery closes
Tartine's 4 p.m. close is only part of the Strawberry Village picture. Cholita Linda opened directly across the roadway in mid-August. It is the sixth location and first in Marin for owners Vanessa Chavez and Murat Sozeri, whose California Latin cooking began in 2008 at the Jack London Square farmers market in Oakland. It serves from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at Suite 801. The roughly 70 indoor seats sit under papel picado and string lights, with more tables outside. The menu runs from Baja fish tacos to a Cubano and pescado frito with salsa criolla.
Together, the two newcomers cover the center from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Several other recent arrivals fill in around them:
- Lulu Dae's, a locally owned café at Suite 802, serves acai bowls, matcha, juices, musubi and soft serve from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
- Ernesta opened a custom-size rug showroom at Suite 703 on October 7, 2026. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Hydration Room opened June 12 in a formerly vacant space near Belvedere Drive. The Ark counts it among a run of wellness tenants that includes Orangetheory Fitness in 2018 and Hot Yoga Republic in February 2025.
- Baan Thai Reserve is listed by the center as "Coming in 2027" at 615 Strawberry Village, with Thai classics and a cocktail bar.
The recurring dates add a rhythm of their own. The all-local, all-organic farmers market on the central green runs every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. California's October 2026 certified market list shows it as year-round. That puts produce shopping on one of the three days when Tartine is the only bakery of the pair that is open. Porsche Marin's Motor Social, a cars-and-coffee morning, meets every second Saturday from 8 to 9:30 a.m. That schedule makes November 14 and December 12 the next two dates. On Saturday, October 24, PAAM at 60 Belvedere Drive hosts a free Pumpkin Bash from 3 to 5 p.m., with pumpkin decorating, carnival games and a costume dance party.
What fall looks like at both counters
Tartine's menu has moved on from the summer corn and stone fruit salads of opening week. The October sample menu on the café's page lists a chopped apple and walnut salad, a fig green goddess salad, a shakshuka tartine and blueberry bread pudding. In August, general manager Derek Belanger told Marin Magazine about a peach Danish made with Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese. He said it "can only be found at this location." Peaches are seasonal, though, and the October menu does not say whether it is still offered. The steady items are the country bread, croissants and morning buns.
Downtown, Madrona Bakery's Fall/Winter 26/27 classes cover focaccia, sourdough, quick breads and cookies. The October 3 focaccia session was marked out of stock. Learning sourdough at 17 Madrona fits the address. Chad Robertson's bread got its Mill Valley start in that room, and the oven baking there now was built in the tradition he learned from Alan Scott.
For a 2016 Marin Magazine story, which the August feature quotes, Robertson said Scott "was about forming a community around the oven." Two counters in Mill Valley now come from that circle of bakers: Tartine at Strawberry Village every day from 8 a.m., and Madrona Bakery at 17 Madrona Thursday through Sunday.
Some of a Mill Valley home's value comes from small details like these: which morning the closest bakery is open, and how far you walk to a Tuesday market. When you are ready to think about what your home is worth, Sharon Kramlich can bring that local knowledge to the conversation. Request a Complimentary Home Evaluation.
