A little over five years ago, we opened Blue Loon Bakery with the simple goal of providing this great community with the best artisan bread and finest pastries, hoping it could become a place for people to gather, socialize and feel connected. We had an inkling it might work, but no idea that it would become a place that turns out over 1300 croissants in a week during the summer, with long lines on weekends, a menu that has steadily expanded. Nor did we anticipate that Laurie would become Chair of the Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA) board this year -- a time commitment to help other bakers and bakeries.
So we’ve decided it’s time to reset and refocus on the core of our business – artisan breads and pastries – and create a more sustainable business model for the long run. We believe this is the right thing to do for us and for our employees who work tirelessly to meet the exacting standards of a “from scratch” bakery that puts quality first. We plan to simplify what we do, allow time to create new recipes, improve our core offerings, and give our staff more opportunities to train and develop as bakers.
This means a simpler menu and reduced opening days. Starting this week, we will revert to being closed on Wednesdays (as we normally do between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Beginning the week of 14 August, when many of our summer staff will start to leave, we will no longer offer made-to-order food (breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, grilled cheese, toasted bagels). We are already fully booked this summer on cakes and catering; we plan to suspend those service offerings to focus on our in-person customers.
We will continue to offer grab-and-go premade sandwiches on our breads. There may be other adjustments we will need to make as the year goes on to ensure we can maintain our high bakery standards, and provide meaningful and sustainable jobs for our staff.
While we are cutting back on some things that were not core to our business, starting this week we will begin offering something that many of you have requested. We have installed an espresso machine and will be offering espressos, lattes and cappuccinos, featuring coffee from our partner Wayfarer Coffee Roasters.
We do not make these decisions lightly, and know that some will be disappointed, but ask for your understanding and the support you have shown us since day one.
Mike and Laurie
