We recently connected with Derek Kaplan and have shared our conversation below.

Derek , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

HOW IT ALL STARTED The origin of Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop comes in large part from Derek Kaplan’s passion for pie. A talented, self-taught baker who honed his craft at home and in the kitchen at his firehouse, Kaplan launched his first shop after retiring from the fire department. There he set out to tempt, tantalize and delight; which Kaplan continues to do with his two thriving storefronts in the Wynwood Arts District and Coconut Grove plus a Fort Lauderdale location in the works. His dedication to spreading joy and making each Fireman Derek’s experience a memorable one has earned him a stellar reputation and made the shops destinations for locals and visitors from across the globe. No visit to the Magic City is complete without a stop at a Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop!

DEREK STARTS BAKING AT 15
To make a little money on the side, at 15 years old, Derek Kaplan was squeezing limes by hand in his father’s apartment, perfecting the earliest rendition what would become his wildly popular Key Lime Pie. Several years later – using the same recipe – he would go on to sell miniature-sized versions of his pie on the sidewalks of Miami’s historic Coconut Grove neighborhood.

DEREK’S FIREFIGHTING CAREER
During his firefighting days at Station 1 in Downtown Miami, Kaplan worked grueling, 24-hour shifts with only two days off in between. After showcasing a natural talent in the firehouse kitchen, he was drafted as the Station 1 cook providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for 20 firefighters, three days a week. Outside of his dessert repertoire, Kaplan cooked everything from Cuban staple dishes like Vaca Frita to pans of lasagna.

FIREFIGHTER TO BAKER TRANSITION
Soon after joining the department in 2006, Kaplan started baking to supplement his income; he utilized downtime to bake 25 to 30 pies a week, first out of his father’s apartment and, later, as demand for his pies grew, out of a number of Miami-based commissary kitchens. By 2016, after years of juggling both careers, Kaplan retired from the fire department to pursue baking full time.

OPENING THE WYNWOOD STORE
In 2013, Kaplan decided to take the plunge and began searching for a cozy little nook to build his first pie shop. In one of Miami’s hippest neighborhoods, Wynwood, he found 600 square feet of vacant space jammed in between the Electric Pickle, a popular dance club and a barbershop. The grand opening of Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop in Wynwood took place July 2014 and it’s been a wild ride since. In 2021, expanding on his success in the Wynwood market Fireman Drek’s relocated their flagship store – the new 25-seat bake shop is located just three blocks south from the original Wynwood shop boasting a much larger space with plentiful seating. At 2,000 square feet, the new location – 2545 North Miami Avenue #1 – is about triple the size of the current/original shop.

OPENING THE COCONUT GROVE STORE
In March 2019, Kaplan opened the Coconut Grove outpost of his bake shop, located on Main Highway, the bustling artery home to many of the neighborhood’s top restaurants and shops. The 36-seat bake shop — twice the size of the Wynwood flagship store — puts Kaplan’s confections on the forks of Grovites and South Miamians in the neighborhood where he got his footing.

OPENING THE FORT LAUDERDALE STORE
2021 marked a big year for Derek Kaplan with the birth of his first child, a son, Peyton Wallace and the opening of his new Wynwood store. 2022 should provide more momentum with the opening of his third Fireman Derek’s location in Fort Lauderdale. In the wake of a challenging time for everyone in the food service industry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaplan’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well as he looks forward to expanding the brand even further. “I’ve always had big dreams for Fireman Derek’s” states Kaplan, fondly recalling those early days baking when he wasn’t on duty as a Miami firefighter. “Both Broward and Palm Beach County have a number of neighborhoods that would be perfect for future stores. We intend to expand into new markets. Though we’ve been around for close to a decade, I think we’re just getting started.”

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

At 15 years old, I was squeezing Key limes by hand in my father’s apartment, perfecting the earliest rendition of my Key Lime Pie to make a little money on the side while I was in high school. Several years later, I began selling miniature-sized Key Lime Pies to small businesses in Coconut Grove. Fast-forward to today, I turned my childhood passion for pie into two thriving storefronts in Wynwood and Coconut Grove where I first got my start.

During my firefighting days at Station 1 in Downtown Miami, I worked crazy, 24-hour shifts with only two days off in between. Shortly after joining the department, I started baking again to supplement my income; I utilized my down time to bake 25 to 30 pies a week, first out of my father’s apartment and later in a number of Miami-based commissary kitchens. In 2013, I decided to take the plunge and started looking for places to build my first pie shop – I found 600 square feet of vacant space jammed in between the Electric Pickle, a popular dance club and a barbershop in Wynwood. The grand opening of Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop in Wynwood happened in July 2014 with much success. Since then we’ve moved our flagship location about three blocks down and tripled the size.

By 2016, after years of juggling two laborious careers, I retired from the fire department to pursue my baking career full time. In March 2019, I opened the Coconut Grove outpost of my original bake shop located right on Main Highway and now have a Fort Lauderdale location in the works.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Consistency is key. Consistent product, consistent service and consistent leadership is definitely what builts customer loyalty and is ultimately what keeps people coming back. If you look at the success of America’s greatest chain restaurants, it may not necessarily be that the quality of the product is superb, but you can bet the product is consistent. I try to instill that mantra into my staff to be the best we can be.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I definitely want to shout out my wife, life partner and Vice President at Fireman Derek’s, Jeanine Cottone. Jeanine has helped immensely in building out our brand from a product and operations standpoint and is incredibly talented in so many different ways. A natural-born creative, Jeanine began her career at Fireman Derek’s in the kitchen and since then has imagined up several of our best-selling pies, including the Cookie Monster! Today, she oversees all things FDBS from production to hiring to menu development. Her kindness, patience, and compassion make her an invaluable asset to our team – she lights up any room she walks into no matter how dark. There’s no doubt Jeanine keeps the FDBS whole team in check and without her, we could’ve never accomplished all that we have in these crucial years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.firemandereks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fdpies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fdpies
• Other: We ship nationwide via Goldbelly: https://www.goldbelly.com/fireman-dereks-bakery

Image Credits
Photos Courtesy of Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop