We were lucky to catch up with Brad Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brad, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Currently the biggest challenge is the costs involved with owing a bakery. Ingredient costs have soared over the last few years. Eggs alone were as high as $82 a case up from an average of $19-$28. As food costs continue to rise so do our other costs. Payroll, Energy, Insurance, and most of all , something not addressed nearly enough are credit card processing fees!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have worked in restaurants since I was 14. All through high school and into college. At some point I decided that my carrier and happiness was in the industry. I went to George Brown College in Toronto, my hometown, and got my certificate in Baking techniques. After a 3.5 year apprenticeship, and a test I was awarded my “red seal” as a Baker/Pâtissier. I left Toronto to become a rich and famous pastry chef in NYC. I opened my Bakery in March of 2004 in Boston. For the last 19+ years we have strived to be the local bakery serving our neighborhood. All of our products are made in house with the finest ingredients. But more importantly, we sell a sense of community. We know our customers names, we take the time to get to know them. This was most obvious during the Pandemic. We remained open and people would come by for a baguette and some conversation. We are a part of their lives.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In the first two years of business there was 18 months of construction on our street. They were replacing the water, sewer, and gas lines. It was a huge project and it almost put us out of business. But, we persevered. We did the hard work to make us a neighborhood staple..

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I had enough of working for other people. Most of my carrier was in restaurants where people came for the food. Dessert was an afterthought. I had been working at a retail bakery/food shop/restaurant and people were just coming to get my desserts, not eating dinner. This was the first time I got the idea that I could do this work for myself and not someone else. I thought the best way to find an investor, would be to start teaching baking in Adult Ed. I thought I might be able to cobble together some funding. Over the course of the next few months I met a lot of great people, but none of them were excited about this business. There was one person however who thought it a great idea. this was my introduction to my investor. With their backing we got the blue frog up and ruining.

Image Credits
brad brown