Keiller Kyle
Ovenbird Bakery | Baltimore, MD
February 2026
Keiller Kyle grew up on a dairy farm near Syracuse, New York, where a daily connection to agriculture and farming instilled in him a passion for conservation and quality. Later, he became a sales representative for the family farm, North Brook Dairy, before earning a master’s degree in ecology and working as a conservationist for the National Audubon Society. It wasn’t until 2016, a few years after Kyle and his wife moved to Baltimore, Maryland, that baking became his calling. Inspired by shows like “The Great British Bake Off,” he set out to learn the basics of bread making, and it soon became an obsession.
He began distributing extra bakes to friends, who started requesting specialty loaves of their own. Over the next three years, Kyle expanded his hobby into a cottage business, selling breads throughout the city while gaining popularity and improving his technique. In 2019, Kyle got to work fixing up a brick-and-mortar space in Baltimore’s Little Italy. After the pandemic and a few extra months of work, he opened Ovenbird Bakery to the public in June 2020, selling breads, bagels, sandwiches, and pastries.
The business took off, and after about seven months of lines stretching down the block, Kyle knew he needed to expand. In 2023, he opened a location in Highlandtown, and in 2025, he opened a third location at The Rotunda. With production centralized in Highlandtown, Kyle is carefully expanding the bakery, establishing more wholesale accounts, and offering opportunities for his team to grow. He is also putting the local community at the forefront by providing a comfortable third space for guests, connecting with schools and other local businesses, and donating food daily through Leftover Love, a nonprofit working to reduce food waste and hunger in the Baltimore area.
2026 StarChefs D.C.-Maryland-Virginia Rising Stars Award Winner
