Hill Country Vegan Bakery Skull & Cakebones Is Closing

Dripping Springs vegan bakery Skull & Cakebones is closing up in the Hill Country. Its last day at 3991 Highway 290, Suite A will be on Sunday, December 18.

“The two biggest factors that led us to finalize this decision were rent inflation and the lack of a labor force in this area,” writes co-owner Yauss Berenji to Eater. Berenji and co-owner and wife Yauss Berenji, who live in the Hill Country and started Skull as a wholesale bakery in 2013, decided to open the physical location in Dripping Springs in 2017 because they thought it would be “more cost-effective.” However, that presented its own issues in terms of not having enough staffers.

That labor issue, coupled with the pandemic, meant that the couple was “in a constant state of fight or flight,” Berenji writes. “I’m pretty sure I walked through most of it as the living version of the hypnotized emoji.” The final straw was their landlord increasing their rent to an amount that they couldn’t afford.

Skull is known for its array of stellar vegan baked goods — everything from croissants to cakes to cinnamon rolls — as well as savory items like sandwiches and chicken tenders.

Still, this is not the end of Skull. The duo is partnering with a local bakery to continue to offer its wholesale baked goods through supermarkets like H-E-B and Central Market. And she also tells Eater that there are additional plans in the works, but couldn’t divulge them just yet. Expect an announcement sometime early next year.