Nestled on the corner of Madison Avenue and Walnut Street in Newtonville, Bread and Chocolate Bakery Café has established its place in the neighborhood in just a year’s time. “I call it the neighborhood front porch,” said Eunice Feller, owner of Bread and Chocolate. “In the mornings people sit at the tables out front having coffee and muffins, reading the paper and socializing. It reminds me of a big front porch.”

Feller and her husband, Steve, opened Bread and Chocolate Bakery Café on September 20, 2006, three months after Eunice graduated with honors from the Professional Chef’s Program at The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. A year after the shop’s anniversary, Bread and Chocolate boasts more than 50 regular customers plus those who make the shop a destination and an impulse stop. “It’s a pleasant surprise when a new customer stops in and says they didn’t know there was a bakery in Newtonville,” said Feller.

Eunice’s journey to café owner was a long, although, not a surprising one. Born in St. Louis, Eunice’s family moved to California when she was five. She was educated in California, earning a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design and an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. She worked for the same art supply retail store for 20 years, starting off as a part-time cashier during her freshman year in college and working her way to VP of Marketing.

In the mid-1990s, at about midway through her retail career, Eunice applied to the California Culinary Academy. “I grew up with Wonder Bread, McDonald’s, and Vienna sausages in Missouri,” explained Feller. “After living in California I had been to the best bakeries and developed a love for gourmet food. I started reading Gourmet Magazine and cooking from it. You know how it is; people think you are a good cook because you can follow a recipe.”

However, the owners of the retail chain where she worked sold the business and the new owners offered Eunice a very lucrative package. She ended up staying with the business for another 10 years. While working for the chain store, Eunice moved to New York and eventually to Massachusetts. “After 20 years I was a part of the culture there,” she said. “I’ve been in retail my whole life and I love the experience of it!”

She and Steve knew they wanted to own their own business. They started looking for retail spaces in the area. “We didn’t know whether it would be a manufacturing business or a retail shop,” said Eunice. “We decided that we wanted to do something with food and started looking at bakeries.” At one point, they decided that one of them should get some training, so Eunice revisited culinary school. “We went to an information session at CSCA and within three weeks I started in the Professional Chef’s Program,” said Eunice.

While attending The CSCA, Eunice and Steve continued to look at retail spaces for their bakery. Eventually, they found the space occupied by Basil Tree in Newtonville. Painted in inviting soft green and yellows, the small shop has a cozy feeling with wrought iron tables and chairs, chalkboard menus, and Eunice’s food photography adorning the walls. The shop’s display cases are filled with mouth-watering European-inspired pastries including a variety of morning pastries, cakes, tarts, cupcakes, cookies, and packaged sandwiches, green salads, and cold salads. Steve’s welcoming smile greets customers as they enter the shop. Primarily, Eunice serves as the recipe tester and floats between the kitchen and the store front while Steve manages the counter and makes sandwiches. She has one full-time pastry cook and a dishwasher who also helps with prep and baking.

Eunice remains amazed with her good fortune. The shop has received The Reader’s Choice for Best Bakery by the Newton Tab, Best of the New by the Boston Globe, and was featured in The Girl’s Guide to a City Life, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Edible Boston. It isn’t just the press she’s received; it’s the welcome from the neighborhood that impresses Eunice. She and Steve know the café’s regulars by name, know where they vacation and when they’ll return, and their children’s interests. “People still print out our online menu and circle the items that they want for lunch,” said Feller. “I love that!”