The Bread Garden Bakery & Café opened in 1995 as an affiliate of Fresh Food Concepts, which also owns and operates Givanni's, Mondo's, Joseph's, Hot House Yoga, and The Saloon. The Bread Garden Bakery & Café thrived on the street corners of Clinton and Burlington, celebrating a calm and close atmosphere endeared by students, faculty, artists and residents alike. With its simple efficiency and modest layout people lined up for an unrivaled quality of homemade cuisine.

Following the success of the restaurant, owner Jim Mondanaro saw an avenue to other possibilities, and the result was a change in locations in 2008. As the tweak in title suggested, Bread Garden Market was something distinctively new, but without straying too far from the themes of its predecessor.