Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jordan Hewes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jordan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I think about this a lot actually. It usually creeps up when there is a big problem to be solved, or on days when it feels like nothing is going right. It usually presents itself in the form of a thought about how much easier would it be if I had someone to give this problem to or if there was someone else that had to make a certain decision or getting something done that is proving to be quite the challenge. I always thought that I started Craft because of my love for baking but being in business has helped me identify so many other things that I am passionate about – things like building a great team of people that are invested in this vision and love what they do every day. I have to remind myself about times that I did have a regular job and how decisions that were made by someone else didn’t feel like they were made with intention and purpose. Then I have to remind myself that this is where I am meant to be building and meant to be helping others grow and meant to be providing a community that I care so much about with a space that makes you feel so welcomed and united.

Jordan, 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?

I’m just a girl from Garden City Kansas. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my Mom and my Grandma who instilled their desire to perfect things not just in the kitchen, but in life, in me. I was a little bit of a troubled teen and always struggled to understand myself enough to know what direction to take my life. I was lucky enough that my Mom recognized my talent and passion in the kitchen and encouraged me to attend culinary school. I ended up at Sullivan University in Louisville Kentucky. Looking back, it’s easy now to see that every step I took and every person I met, every relationship, every job and thing that I experienced was building me up to be able to handle the optics of building, growing and running a business of my own.
One of the main reasons I had a desire to open my own place from very early on was the toxic culture that runs rampant through the food and beverage industry. I could not understand why such a culture existed in a profession full of people that love what they do and customers who love to indulge in those talents. It comes from the top down and I needed to put myself somewhere at the top to be able to help it move down. I think the culture of Craft is something I am most proud of. Yes, we make beautiful pastries, carefully cared for breads and wonderful cakes but something you can feel when you walk in the door is that every person here loves being here and that means the world to me.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I opened Craft in November of 2018 just a few doors down from one of the best local pizza parlors. I became a frequent customer, usually to unwind from the day with a beer but soon as a fan of one of the girls behind the counter serving the beer. After a long stint of flirting, drawing cute notes on receipts and making eyes at one another from across the bar, Anna and I started dating. At the time – the bakery was operating a small second pop up location and I needed some consistent help running that. Shortly after, the Covid pandemic hit and the pizza shop went into shut down. By this time, Anna had upgraded so many things for the bakery – overseeing email orders, creating and maintaining a calendar of our custom orders and wholesale partners. She brings a certain vibe and finesse to the decor and business that wouldn’t exist without her. Long story short, we got married in 2023. She aligns with my desire to change the narrative of the toxic culture in the restaurant industry and provide a place where the community can come together. Life partner, business partner, better half, anyway you name it – she completes me but she also completes Craft Bakery.

Any advice for managing a team?

I think a lot of the toxic culture found in food and beverage establishments comes from poor team management. Cooks get orders from sous chefs who take orders from Executive chefs who are taking orders from General management who get orders from corporate who are sitting in their office looking at numbers and ultimately at a bottom line. While the numbers and the the bottom line is important for the success and life of any business, the true lifeline is within and I think that a lot of places lose sight of that. Define what success means to you as a business owner or as a leader of a team and recognize that it all starts with the people doing the job. The people making the products, speaking to the customers, the people on the front line have to feel invested in the vision and life of the business. And this isn’t achieved with pizza parties or just making demands. Bringing your team along in addressing issues, solving problems and feeling the reward of solving those problem is the best recipe for maintaining a high morale. When my team makes a mistake, first rule – control your reaction. I try not to start with a “punishment” or with criticism, but rather walk through the process from the beginning and figure out what went wrong together and troubleshoot what we could’ve done differently. This way we aren’t just shaming people into submission, but truly building trust and education for an easier and better outcome next time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.craftgourmetbakery.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/craftbakerypensacola
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/craftbakerypensacola

Image Credits

Emily Veal