Wingen Bakery gained a reputation for sourdough and croissants. After a renovation and expanded name, the restaurant serves dinner with seasonal offerings.
At the recent Taste our Terroir Livermore Valley wine event, Wingen paired the food for Steven Kent Winery and served an “Italian beef sandwich with Corno di Toro giardiniera, hoagie roll and Cabernet Franc au jus,” a French dip in a tiny roll with pickled, diced veggies including Corno di Toro sweet peppers. The Italian theme was reinforced by a flower-topped can of Dinapoli tomatoes as table decoration Wingen won the People’s Choice award for best red wine food pairing.
Tasting the hoagie roll and remembering rumors of prior pizza nights prompted me to visit Wingen. After meeting co-owner Bryan Wingen, I learned that he moved from Thornton, Colo. to California to attend art school and that his co-owner wife Aimee, the executive chef, is of Italian American heritage.
On the dinner menu, I spied lasagna and Nonna’s gnudi (soft, ricotta cheese dumplings) and eight pizzas including the marinara pie with Italian oregano highlighted. Also prominent on the menu is the restaurant’s logo — a smiling female chef wearing a pleated hat. On the all-glass front door, a large facsimile of the lady chef logo with bright red lipstick greets guests. The border of the menu is red and white checked like the red and white tablecloths found in Italian restaurants.
Given the restaurant’s modern, non-fussy ambiance, I asked Bryan about the retro logo. “We loved the male version of the logo and wanted a female representation since Aimee is the chef,” said Bryan. The beverage list describes cocktails as “Lo-Fi,” a reference to minimalist or nostalgic themes with traditional visuals.
At the bar, the cocktail strainers stand in an empty can of Luxardo Italian maraschino cherries. The use of everyday objects for decor and reimagining classic food and drink reflects the Wingens’ overall mission: Build a community gathering place, source organic ingredients from Northern California suppliers, recycle and reduce waste. In 2025 Wingens received the Excellence in Sustainability at Work award from the Alameda County StopWaste program.
The Wingens moved to Livermore in 2019 and later that year, their daughter Waylynn was born with a fatal genetic disorder called Zellweger syndrome. Dealing with COVID and Waylynn’s declining health, Aimee began baking sourdough under a cottage baking license as a therapeutic exercise and offering fresh bread for the townspeople. The Wingens took time off after Waylynn died at 8 months old. They opened the bakery in June 2021.
A year later, the Wingens acquired the building next door and added lunch service. The couple commissioned San Francisco artist Lynn Rubenzer to paint Livermore scenes for the restaurant such as the Farmers Market. At the bakery entrance is Rubenzer’s painting of Wingens’ first home on College Avenue that shows the outline of three heads inside a darkened window as an ode to their time with Waylynn. The couple now live a few blocks down South Livermore Avenue from the restaurant.
After the renovations to expand the dining room finished in mid-May, the couple opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner service on Wednesday to Sunday. There is a side patio and sidewalk tables.
Seated in a booth by the windows for lunch recently, I considered ordering the big girl version of the Italian beef on a hoagie roll but decided to order something simple to understand the kitchen’s capabilities. The egg sandwich was elevated by the house made semolina bread, a toasted foil for the egg, melted American cheese, and crunchy, candied bacon.
I also ordered a seasonal honeynut squash and goat cheese toast on sourdough to share. My friend Cher ordered a hefty turkey avocado sub. Our friendly server, Emily Wilson, recommended the grilled cheese and tomato soup for another visit.
Cher advised me to view the bakery case before most items disappeared. The temptation at the case was great, and I selected a maple-bacon supreme. This autumnal version of the circular, spiral shaped croissant pastry was filled with maple pastry cream, whipped cream cheese, and topped with candied bacon, evoking memories of my recent Parisien trip.
Like all Wingen’s croissants and croissant-adjacent pastries, the supreme ingredient list includes “beurre d’Isigny.” This butter from Normandy, France is loaded with higher butter fat content and is used by top professional pastry chefs. Wingen croissant favorites are the chocolate, ham and cheese, and spinach-feta.
A graduate of Livermore’s Granada High School, Aimee Wingen worked at desk jobs while perfecting her home cooking. She received her professional culinary tutelage and fully embraced her passion for cooking at Homestead restaurant in Oakland and was soon promoted to pastry chef. Before COVID, she was a sous chef at Range Life in Livermore.
Aimee and her staff now bake 100 sourdough leaves a day. Comprising eight major steps, sourdough production takes about 24 hours. The bakery also makes semolina bread, olive bread, and baguettes. The Wingen pastrami sandwich, a Reuben look-alike, is served on rye bread. A secret menu item, the rye bread is available if you call ahead or arrive early to score a loaf.
Crowd favorites also include brown butter chocolate chip cookies, gluten free tea cakes, and bagels. The everything bagel is loaded with JTM Spices made by Wingen Beverage Manager Jeremy Troupe-Masi. I bought a French onion bagel for the next day’s breakfast with lox, eschewing the raw onions for the bagel’s caramelized onions top.
Returning for date night, Healthy Husband studied the menu’s fine print and found several vegetarian options. His colorful autumn salad featured red butter lettuce, über-thin sliced pears, goat cheese and pomegranate seeds.
The pepperoni pizza was replaced by the seasonal squash pie loaded with red kuri squash, mozzarella, garlic cream and hot honey. Served al dente, the squash yielded a good bite, and the hot honey added a spice note. Our server, Brendan Hurll, noted that the squash is from Front Porch Farms in Healdsburg where he and the staff road-tripped to meet the farmers.
Bryan told me they shop at the Marin Farmers Market. “We like Marin because the variety of produce, such as the red kuri squash, is greater than Tri-Valley markets,” said Bryan.
With a wine and beer license, the cocktail list features vermouth and other fortified wines with freshly squeezed produce. “The Watermelon Cooler is the most popular cocktail because it’s refreshing and pink and who doesn’t love Watermelon? We are working on a citrus version for the winter,” said Aimee. Mocktails, wines such as a French Grenache Blanc and Surah from JMC Cellars Syrah in Livermore, and beer options including Cellarmaker Brewing Co. are served.
During our Thursday night dinner, Bryan served tables, checked with the kitchen, and chatted with guests. The family next to us enjoyed several Italian specialties. “My aunt is from Sicily, and the meatballs tasted just like hers. The fresh lasagna noodles melt in your mouth.,” said Leilani Russel of Livermore. Rusty Russell was surprised to see sliced new potatoes on a pizza but enjoyed them with the house made, pork sausage patties.
In addition to tiramisu and Basque cheesecake, dessert included ice cream sandwiches which the Russell family said they enjoyed. Leilan bought a dozen cookies to take home.
Busy with the restaurant and annual charity support for the GFPD foundation which supports families with genetic disorders such as Waylynn’s and the Taylor Family Foundation which offers therapeutic wellness program for children with illnesses, Bryan has no plans for major changes at Wingen.
During their time off, Bryan likes to ride Honda motorcycles; two of which reside at the top of the back room’s wall divider. As for Aimee, she said, “I listen to music and play Dungeons and Dragons when lucky enough to get friends together for a session.”
