Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cindy Kruse. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Cindy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
In the restaurant business it takes hard work, dedication and love of what you do. Whether it’s perfecting your craft, keeping customers happy or even keeping the lights on during times like Covid, it is extra hard when you are the business owner and it all falls on you. They say that when you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life; I say, you will work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rewards are priceless!
Cindy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Cindy Kruse. I am an American Pastry Chef and the owner of Cindy Lou’s Cookies. Cindy Lou’s Cookies was born in 2013 in a garage in Coconut Grove, after I quit my executive pastry job. After way too many years working in professional kitchens, it was time to do what really made me happy- cookies! In the beginning I was everything from the dishwasher to the delivery girl, oh yea, and the executive cookie maker- it was so hard but so awesome!
Fast forward to today- wow! To think those initial years were the “simpler times”.
Today, the original Cindy Lou’s Cookies is located in the heart of Little River. It is considered to be the first Artisanal Cookie Shop in Miami, specializing in big, old fashioned, seriously delicious cookies. Although our specialty is cookies, we also offer many other baked goods. On any given day, you will find about 20 unique and creative cookie flavors.
I am so proud of how far we have come – What started simply as a labor of love out of a garage in 2013, is today going National in partnership with SBE hospitality group. Our plans for expansion are looking to put a cookie shop in every major city in the US.
We are so excited for the future of our not-so-little cookie shop!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Yes, I have a very good story of resilience- it’s called COVID. Nothing brings your little growing business to a sudden halt like a worldwide pandemic! Before the pandemic, Cindy Lou’s was mostly a wholesaler who supplied baked goods to restaurants and coffee houses around Miami that did not bake in house. We had about 24 accounts. Enter Covid, and our accounts went down to zero almost overnight- Everything and everyone shut down!
We had no idea what was going to happen, but we were not going to go down without a fight.
We started baking for the healthcare workers and first responders as a thank you. We delivered thousands of cookies all over Miami. This kept us busy and our workers employed.
People who had never even known about us started calling, ordering over the phone, donating money to support us and the rest is history. That is how we survived Covid and made a bunch of new friends!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
My team is my Cindy Lou family. I give them what I would like to get in return.
I treat them like I wish I would have been treated when I worked for others.
Mutual respect, open communication and a fun work environment is conducive to a happy workplace..
This maintains the morale high.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @cindylouscookies
- Facebook: Cindy Lou’s Cookies
- Yelp: Cindy Lou’s Cookies
Image Credits
Kim Fox Food Photography @kimfoxfoodphoto