advice on baked items in my cofee shop

[gloriakal]

My coffee shop has been up and running for one month now. Had a slow day today (Sunday), but am happy to report that we are above the breakeven point cumulatively for the month of June.
My question is regarding my baked goods.
I make muffins from scratch because I want whole wheat, less-fat muffins.
I make brownies from a mix.
My cookies, scones, and cinnamon rolls come in pre-formed frozen. I just bake them off.
How do other coffee shop owners handle baked goods? Keeping it fresh without a lot of waste?

Thanks
Gloria

 

[MontanaMama]

where do you get pre-formed frozen scones?

 

[ArcticRat]

The wife and I tried the scratch method for muffins, cookies and such for about six months. Found it to time consuming, and the costs vs profits wasnt much. Some people actually turned up their noses to items made from scratch, go figure, now we purchase from a local company that makes everything and delivers to the shop. Cookies, muffins, misc sales are up. I dont know if its the packaging or the food company labels on the back of the items, but the sales are up. Now most people get espresso and something else to go with it.

 

[Rockcreekcoffee]

Baked Goods

We have all of our baked goods delivered. We have scones, bagels, and croissants delivered every morning to us. Our cookies come from another source.

Flexiability is key when dealing with someone doing your baked goods. If you go looking for a bakery - make sure they are easy to deal with and can deliver. It will take so much stress off of you.

Rockcreekcoffee

 

[Muddycup]

we have most of our baked goods delivered to our stores frozen from several regional bakeries thaw and serve. We do suppliment with a local bakery that delivers i. e. danish, bagels we do no baking or preping food on site. little or no waste.

 

[DCC_2006]

We also do no baking on site. We have a local bakery do most of our products, then have some items frozen which we thaw before use.

We have a great local bakery that makes what ever we want, in any quantities. This helps us with controlling our waste.

 

[morrisn]

Baking

We do bake our own muffins, loafs and a few specialty items. We have found our customers want the product that is baked onsite rather than purchased, over processed products. We hired a staff member that comes in early and does all our baking in large batch's and we freeze the majority and pull it out and thaw it as required. It works well for us.

 

[Muddycup]

I don't understand the term processed? the bakeries that we use simply bake in large batches like you do and freeze with all butter natural. One example is my friend Jimmy who owns yorktown bakery who started out small and now is very large, he makes incredible muffins the same way he made them in the bakery he had here in hudson when he started out. Don't discount products based on perception. Just look for the best products you can find. Another example I found the best choc cookie and they are shipped in from canada I sell over 500 a week, but my distributor and I have to order 4000# at a time.

I agree that the decline of small bakeries and baking on site is a thing of the past, except in some high volume location. the business model does not support the high cost of producing a low price retail product and the fact that the quality of shipped in product has become exceptional.

 

[Java Time Cafe]

Baking

Our shoppe already does pizza's,biscuits,grilled cheese,and in the Winter we have a pot of homemade chili going all the time.Over the past year and a half we've been asked about expanding our menu.This was a coffee shop!It started out with fresh donutz and pasties flown in daily from the donut shop(two blocks away) we bought out while we were building our place.He now delivers only on Monday and Friday from his new place 20 miles away.Although I have no real competetion here,I have still got to get people in the door.I've just bought a refrigerated sandwich prep table,and I'm knocking out doorways and building a kitchen.I have a girl who wants to exploit her catering business from our place as soon as the kitchen is done.I tried to compete with breakfast@ Hardees to no avail.Now I'm jumping in with both feet and preparing to compete with every greasy/friedfood/slopshop in this little 4 horse town.
To you Gloria,I say try it,work it,if it works for ya,keep working it :wink: mr.espresso