Allen announced via Instagram on June 17 that he was selling Proof, his company that provides artisan breads and pastries to restaurants, coffee shops, and farmer's markets throughout Mesa and Gilbert.
“You get everything including training,” the Instagram post’s caption reads. “Hurry though, I’m moving soon.”
If you’ve ever ordered a pain au chocolat from Proof, or eaten a sandwich on Proof bread at a place like Worth Takeaway in downtown Mesa, the idea that Allen is stepping away from his oven is nothing short of devastating.
Allen is well-known as a family man (he operated Proof out of his home) and it’s a family directive that is moving him out of Phoenix, to the East Coast.
“My wife is a painter and has been given an opportunity to join an artist's collective in Central Massachusetts near Belchertown,” Allen says.
The Allens are buying a historic Baptist church there, along with the rectory, on 4 wooded acres.
“We hate to leave Phoenix, but this was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”
On June 26, again via Instagram, Allen introduced the new faces of Proof, Amanda Abou-Eid and Jonathan Przybyl.
Abou-Eid and Przybyl are resident food lovers and long time Proof customers who are quickly picking up Allen’s methods, Allen says. The Instagram photo (taken by Abou-Eid) shows Allen and Przybyl covered with flour after a night of hard work.
“Running on no sleep. Working in 95 degree heat in front of a 500 degree oven. Baking all night, no breaks. Still smiling. That’s the sign of a true baker,” reads the caption.
Jared Allen with one of Proof Bread's new owners, Jonathan Przybyl. (Co-owner Amanda Abou-Eid is not pictured.)
Jared Allen
And what of Allen’s own baking future?
Allen says that he has reached out to a few Massachusetts bakeries that would be happy to have him (who wouldn’t?), though he can’t comfortably say anything more at this time.
“Mostly,” Allen says, “I'm looking forward to enjoying the nature, gardening, kayaking, running, and hiking.”
