Grocery Store Wants To Rent Me Their Bakery...not Cafe Lady!
Business By CakeDiva73 Updated 20 Nov 2009 , 2:37am by rosiecast
What are the chances the cafe lady shops in that particular grocery store?
Well, she lives around the corner from her cafe and this store is about 15 miles away so I am going to say it's doubtful.......however, I am not going to be shocked if I see her stop by to check things out. Or more her style may be to send one of her friends for an update, lol.
I am just not going to worry about it. I never did anything regarding her that would make me ashamed (other then let her walk all over me *ahem*).
I got all organized last night, made a list of questions, a couple other lists of preliminary things I think will need to be done/purchased and we shall see. Since they are an actual business, this will definitely not be handshake deal. Not that it ever should be. We will need to clean that place from top to bottom first so that would be the next step after a contract is signed and I get the liability insurance. The place has been vacant for over a year so it definitely needs to once over.....maybe the twice over! Thanks again for all the support and kind words!
I love how another door opened up for you.
this sounds way better then paying hourly with the crazy lady.
wow, if she had not caused you all that stress, you would've missed out on this opportunity!!
you could do your custom cakes, and put things in the cooler to sale. I am so excited for you!
melody
You know the crazy thing is this whole thing came about thru a cake I did for trade on craigs list. I put an ad up and traded for a portrait sitting with a photographer (cake was for her brother) and I remember hesitating.....'should I do this cake? Will I get burned?'
Of course I did it, about a $400 carved tiered cake, and then we became friends and she was the one who heard about my woes and suggested the bakery thing because her Mom works there.
So holy everluvin' cow ~ what if I had decided not to do that cake? I am just trying not to get ahead of myself, stay positive but also prepare myself for the crud that happens so if it doesn't work out, I don't go into this insane depression, which to be honest, is what happened after it all went down with the cafe, lol. Gotta keep a stiff upper lip!
Cakediva!!! Congrats- that's wodnerful. God works in mysterious ways. So happy for you. I love happy stories. As for wacko lady, just let her waste her time and energy in thinking about ways to spy on you. You need to focus on making this business work for you. Yay!!!!
Just goes to show that opportunities come from the most surprising places. I'm so happy for you - sounds like a dream opportunity!
We are all sooooo excited for you and are waiting to hear how it all came out. Will be praying for you.
I would be on this like white on rice!!! I would just keep all my personal things that I brought in a padlocked cabinet so people don't mess, steal, and try to write on a cake when you are not there. Actually, I would keep EVERYTHING in locked cabinets. Ingredients, cookie cutters, cake pans, molds, EVERYTHING.
To quote Maria in The Sound of Music:
Whenever God closes a door, He opens a window.
Hope it works out for you.
Wow, what an amazing opportunity! I'm so happy and excited for you. I'm sure we'd all love an update after you've settled in.
Sorry Been working 12-14 hr days (I kid you not) and never got any email updates that posts had been made to the thread.....
Yes, I am in! It's a grocery store bakery, huge oven cooks 15 ful size sheets at a time, nice big kitchen, lots of ammenites that make me so happy. It even had a 30 qt Hobart in the back storage (no one actually 'bakes' anymore - they just defrost) so all I had to do was find a paddle and it is working great.
The bad part??? I have to bake their bread, pastries and frozen cookie stuff for them, M-F so they don't have to have it shipped in. The good news is no rent but the bad news is its taking me 5 hrs every morning so I am working like a dog.
I do have he potential to just pay the $500 a month in rent and they can continue to have the baking shipped in but its a really touchy situation. I feel like part of the reason they are giving me the moon and stars (my own department, 10 feet of self-service refridgerator space at the front of the store, 20 feet of display, 2 table tops, access to anything and everything I can find) but I think it's because I am doing their baking and they are so happy to have fresh baking again in the store. (M-F)
They are still shipping it in Sat & Sunday and when I go on vacation, etc. And like I said NO RENT AT ALL!!! Not a penny. The kitchen is like 650 sf - huge.....blech. Its hard. I mean they created a sep. Department for me so everything I make for my business can be rung up at the register and then they cut me a check twice a month.... I don't even have to "man" the register or anything.
So, I am trying to find a groove and make it faster. The people are fantastic. So the long story short is part of the deal is I bake for them and it leaves me a more limited amount of time to bake my stuff. But I feel like it would be realy disappointing to just go back on it. If I really and truly have no time to bake my stuff, I will go back and re-do the deal. Like I said, they are nice.
The bread baking takes only 2 hrs or so but the friggin packaging takes forever!!!! I am hoping maybe a compromise would be for them to provide me with a helper who will package the stuff up after I bake it. That would be perfect. I am thinking an employee, 2 hrs a day (M-F) would solve all my problems. Preferably one I don't have to pay , btw... I need an assistant. *sigh*
Ok, back to work! Sorry for the delay - and thanks for all the support and good juju
Sounds great!
Hire someone, for minimum wage, to do the packaging. Free up your time. Or hire someone to do the store's baking so you are free to do your own stuff.
Good luck.
I agree w/cutthecake. Best option is the store providing you a helper free, but if you have to hire a minimum wage assistant to at least package do it. Also, it seems like a great deal to not have to pay $500 a month rent (impossibly cheap in my area), but if you figure that you are working for them for 25 hours a week - that's a 100 hours a month! ($5 pr hr?) -you would do better paying the rent. Isn't your time worth at least minimum wage?
I agree with hire someone. You'll still be coming out ahead. Don't compare rent to payroll. You also have to factor in your lost opportunity costs. While you're packaging bread, you're NOT working on one of your own wedding cakes.
Long long ago, in a land far far away, when I was a measly 20-something clerk in a big company, a co-worker was complaining because SHE had to pull something from a file for a manager (uh, she was a file clerk ... it was her job). Anyway, I overheard it being explained to her that if a $20/hour manager was pulling a file, instead of a $7/hour file clerk, then it was costing the company $20 to have that file pulled instead of just $7.
When you factor what YOUR time is worth ... compared to what you'd pay a packaging clerk .... you'll be coming out ahead.
Great analogy.... I was thinking a min. wage employee at 10 hrs a week was $80, then it was too much to pay. But of course my time is worth more, lol. I am so braindead right now, was here at 7:45 yesterday, didn't leave until 10:20 last night and then back here at 8 again this am. I am foggy, to say the least.
I am not sure if I should try to use an employee from the store and have it deducted from my monthly check or what? I have no idea how to have employees - cripes, I am in over my head!!
The other advantage to using a store employee (but paying them) is it would give me some flexibility since sometimes the packaging is ready to be started at 10:30 - other times it's later. Of course if I had someone on the clock, I would sure as heck get my crapolla together and get on a schedule, right?
Well thanks to you all for the advice. My husband is willing to come in and do it(he is waiting for back surgery to be scheduled) but what the heck do I do when he is down? and then back to work? So I guess I better figure out a more permanent situation.
What about trying to find an intern? Are there any vocational schools in your area that have a culinary program? Check with them.
Just wanted to tell you congratulations and it sounds like an amazing opportunity!! Amazing story!
Wishing you the best, Happy Baking-Katie
I have taken time to read this thread and I have to say that we should all take example to the moral of what happen.
It pays to be nice.
I am so happy that you got blessed and was finally able to rid yourself off the drama.
Great things happen to good/ genuine/ sincere people.
Be blessed and all the best
Keep GOD near and always pra/ put him first is my advice to you. He will see you through.
how exciting!
soooo, what do the customers say? are they just thrilled with your goodies?
let us know that too!
melody
Thank you I am going to hire someone to do the packaging. There is a retirement community literally across the street and I wonder if there is a spry gal who might want to come help out. as a matter of fact, there was a woman who used to work in the bakery back in the day and she was asking if they were hiring. Only thing is insurance (I only have liability - no employees, etc) and I'm sure the store would worry about a slip-n-fall type situation.
Still pondering the idea of 'borrowing' a stocker for 2 hrs a day - will have to talk to the store manager about it. It still takes me 5 hours, no matter how fast I move. There is some free time in the middle to start mixing my stuff, prep, etc but not too much. I have been so crazy working the bread and trying to come up with stuff to sell here, I forgot to order the new media and totally dropped the ball on my holiday flyers. So much to do, I swear.
Hey! But I lost 7 pound since I've been running my tail off instead of sitting on it while watching tv, eating and cruising CC!!
Hi! Is great to hear from you.
I agree with the rest of the ladies- hire someone. I hope you're able to hire one of the people in the store already.
Good luck and please keep us posted. Congrats once again!!
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