We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kallista Pluciennik. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kallista below.

Alright, Kallista thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Has Covid resulted in any major changes to your business model?

Prior to covid, I owned a brick and mortar bakery in the small town of Scranton, PA for 4 years. I mostly sold one product- French macarons. Most of my income was generated through the storefront, special orders and attending local vendor events maybe three times a year. We were steadily busy and it was incredibly successful for me. I ended up closing up shop and relocating to Philadelphia, PA with really no plan, but the hope was to take a small job for a little while and eventually open another brick and mortar. One month after I moved to Philly, Covid hit. I was stuck at a low paying bakery job, denied unemployment, worked less than 40 hours a week for months with no hazard pay. I basically exhausted any savings I put away from my previous small business. Fast forward 9 months, I was finally able to save up enough money to venture back out on my own, but in a completely different way, a way I had never even considered prior to covid. I started to rent a commercial kitchen in North Philly and instead of working out of a brick and mortar, I used a shared kitchen and had to find multiple ways to generate income. This was all so new to me, and frankly it was terrifying. To go from knowing exactly where your income was going to come from, a steady paycheck and consistent customer base, to searching for wholesale accounts, trying to get into any farmers market, vendor event or marketing even possible to try and get your name out there was scary for me. Luckily, a lot of the other small businesses whom I shared the kitchen with were absolutely incredible, supportive and helpful when it came to helping me book events, referring me to clients and customers and truly just being a shoulder to lean on. In Scranton, I didn’t really have anyone in my industry to do that with- it felt more competitive than supportive. So all of this: the shared kitchen, sporadic income, working in 95 degree weather to 20 degree weather, constantly searching for my next dollar was all so new to me. I left the commissary kitchen after about 6 months because quite frankly, I couldn’t afford it on my new journey to get my business out there. Luckily for me, and I could never thank her enough or repay her, one of the other women renting the commissary kitchen allowed me to utilize her new kitchen space for a smaller fee. Again, this was also new to me, because I had never even considered sub leasing someone else’s space. This allowed me to save money, get on my feet, establish a customer base and eventually put a deposit down on my current storefront in Kennett Square, PA. This relocation ended up working perfectly for myself and my significant other’s careers.

Fast forward to today- I’ve come a long way since moving to Philly in January 2020. I’ve also learned a lot, and the main lesson being I will never have it as easy as I did when I had my first storefront. With covid and inflation, I’m now finding that even with a brick and mortar, I need to go the extra step for income: such as attending farmers markets, special events, and taking on wholesale accounts. I always thought having a physical location would be enough, that this was always going to be the end goal, that things would be way easier and less stressful to survive. But I’m finding that it’s not enough, and that small businesses now have to go a few extra steps, especially with ingredient prices as high as they are, rent is higher, utilities are higher etc.

I’m incredibly grateful for the spot that I’m in and I absolutely love my little brick and mortar in the town I ended up in. I love my regular customers that consistently support me, I love all of the positive feedback that I get on a weekly basis. I love my fellow business owner friends. And I hope for that for any small business that might still be feeling the effects of covid because at the end of the day, if you don’t have that kind of support it’s tough to make it through.

While it makes us work harder than before, with this new business model I’m actually able to connect with more people in locations outside of the brick and mortar location. I’ve connected with SO many incredible entrepreneurs and small business owners that are incredibly supportive and helpful. I feel like now, small businesses are in less of a competitive state and more of us taking it upon ourselves to support and uplift one another. We all feel the effects, and it makes it easier to get through it together. While being a farmers market vendor, I’ve connected with customers that travel over an hour to see me at my current location. I’ve found customers for life, or at least for as long as I feel that this is what I want to do. This is what I love about my new business model and it absolutely serves me better, even with the trials and tribulations that come with it.

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 grew up in a small town, Dunmore, in Pennsylvania. My mom’s side of the family is Italian, so naturally growing up I spent a lot of time in the kitchen especially with my Grandmother, or Nonni, with my cousin. I remember her watching Emeril Lagasse on her tiny little kitchen TV, ordering his cookware off of QVC. She was incredibly strict, but always allowed us to help her and be creative in her kitchen. We used to take random ingredients from her cabinets, or the fridge, and try to concoct something with them.

After a swim in the pool, we would to ask her to make us “cake batter” where she would take Neapolitan ice cream, put it into a bowl and mix it as hard as she could until it resembled cake batter. I remember standing there while she did it, thinking she was one of the strongest people I knew. My Nonni was really who inspired us to pursue a career in culinary: she let us have fun and be creative in the kitchen (even if what we made was horrific and resulted in a massive mess).

Growing up my mom owned her own business, a consignment shop where I spent most of my days after school. I always thought it was so cool, playing dress up at my mom’s shop I like to attribute my work ethic to her, and it was incredibly inspiring to me to see my mom own her own business which gave me the confidence to someday own my own, too.

What I learned from all of the amazing and influential women in my life is this: never give up. So far I never have, and don’t plan to.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I truly think that forming special relationships with your customers is huge to grow your clientele. I make a point to get to know my regulars, to ask them about their day or week, or how their mother’s birthday went when they ordered a cake from me. It’s so important to remain human when owning a business and to be present as the owner.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It honestly all comes down to consistency, using quality ingredients and balancing flavors. If a regular comes in and orders a pain au chocolat and the next week the come in for the same product and it’s not the same, there’s a problem. A lot of my customers do just that. They have their favorites and it’s so important to keep those products consistent for them.

I also make a point to use higher quality ingredients and incorporate local vendors and farms when I can, as well as trying to use fruits and vegetables that are in season. We use European butter in all of our products and along with seasonal produce it truly makes a difference in your final product quality, and taste. Knowing how to use your ingredients to balance flavors is key. I think it helps to have a palette that can decide if something needs salt, acid, more sweetness etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lolaksq.com
• Instagram: @patisserie_lola
• Facebook: Patisserie Lola
• Yelp: Patisserie Lola