The smell of sourdough stops pedestrians on National Avenue. 

Inside the red brick storefront, Wild Lab Bakery’s Chapi McGraw shapes a loaf with practiced hands while her husband Andrew, pulls another batch from the oven.

It’s the same bread they started making in their dining room four years ago. Now, customers line up to buy it.

Chapi and Andrew have cultivated community and stewardship with local farmers and Lexington, Kentucky, residents.

The McGraws began refining their sourdough recipes during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding comfort and purpose during an uncertain time.

“We were baking so much, we were giving it to our neighbors, and they said that we should sell it,” Chapi said. “We started selling so much that we converted our dining room into a bakery.”

Andrew said a neighbor dropped off sourdough starter at their house one day. What began as curiosity turned into discipline. The more he practiced, the better the bread became. Soon, they were producing more than their family could eat, giving their loaves to neighbors and friends. 

“We started off with two loaves at a time and now we’re taking over 90 to the farmer’s market,” Andrew said.

The family transformed their home to accommodate their passion. They installed an industrial bread oven in the dining room and lined the space with shaping tables to keep production going.

“It was really intense, because we had two kids at home, who were also doing school at home…and we started baking right in the middle of it,” Chapi said. 

The McGraws included their two children as part of the operation. The kids helped shape loaves, worked farmer’s market booths and participated in the transformation from small business to storefront.

Chapi and Andrew bring different strengths to the business and to their baking process. 

Before opening Wild Lab, Chapi worked as the head of a Montessori school, while her husband operated a Japanese language school. When the pandemic interrupted their careers, baking became both a creative outlet and a stabilizing force for the family.

Before they knew it, the business had outgrown their dining room. 

The McGraws first expanded by opening a booth at the Georgetown farmer’s market before bringing their products to Lexington. 

As demand grew, so did the bakery. In February 2024, the McGraws opened their brick-and-mortar location on National Avenue and they are still vendors at Lexington’s weekly farmers’ markets on Saturdays and Sundays. 

“We have developed strong relationships with the farmers through the farmers’ market. We try to source from them as much as possible,” Chapi said. 

They said they often shopped at the farmers market before starting their business, and becoming vendors felt natural because they already knew the community from the customer’s side. 

During Lexington’s growing season, many of their ingredients come directly from local farmers.

“We know where we’re sourcing our flour from, and we know that the ingredients we’re putting in it are healthy as opposed to harmful.” Andrew said (on their website) “That was something that really drove the interest in the bread from the beginning.” 

For the McGraws, transparency matters, especially for college students and young consumers accustomed to buying bread from large grocery chains.

“Most people don’t realize what’s in their bread,” she said. 

Wild Lab’s sourdough contains just three ingredients, prioritizing a slow fermentation process and leaving out harmful additives. 

Andrew said they’ve built their own community through sourdough bread.

Chapi said the bakery’s location, walking distance from Kenwick, Chevy Chase, Bell Court and Ashland, allows for foot traffic to the bakery, and that a lot of their customers, including UK students, have built Wild Lab into their weekly routine.

Customers drift in and out of Wild Lab, exchanging greetings as the McGraws welcome them by name, recognizing familiar faces and chatting like old friends.

“We’ve gotten to know so many of our customers…we’re meeting people all the time, and meeting people who we just never would’ve met otherwise…it just feels really meaningful,” Chapi said. “In a world where it’s hard to feel connected, we get that all the time.”

Wild Lab’s growth hasn’t meant excess; the McGraws have stayed committed to doing a few things exceptionally well, specifically their loaves. 

Chapi said their strategy has been to focus on the recipes they know, perfecting a handful of recipes and creating a menu of three cult-classic sourdough loaves, white and whole wheat loaf, whole wheat loaf and the weekly flavored loaf option. 

Chapi said there’s a surprising amount of math involved in mastering and expanding sourdough production.

“Perfecting something, getting one thing down really, really well, is a great way to build a business,” Chapi said. 

From the farmers market to their storefront, the couple has created a space rooted in warmth and connection.

“Our customers like coming in and knowing that they’re buying a high-quality good from people that know their names,” Chapi said. “That’s rewarding.”