Do We Need A Downtown Bakery?

[iwasthere]

When Rosetta Stone first opened, they had their own pastry chef.  Unfortunately, that position didn't last long, I assume, because there wasn't a huge demand.

When the Lemon Grove first started opening early for breakfast, they had a wide selection of Maggies Magic Muffins.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have nearly as many muffins available now.  Again, I assume this is because there wasn't enough demand.

So, by extenstion, I will assume that there isn't a market for a stand-alone bakery downtown, yet.  When more people start living downtown, I think it could become a very nice amenity, though.

could it be that the prices were too high for the folks that lived downtown.

[jay]

Maybe one of the pizza shops could start making some bread, rolls and pastries.  If sales increase, the shop could expand its offerings to include more bakery items.

[northside lurker]

When Rosetta Stone first opened, they had their own pastry chef.  Unfortunately, that position didn't last long, I assume, because there wasn't a huge demand.

When the Lemon Grove first started opening early for breakfast, they had a wide selection of Maggies Magic Muffins.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have nearly as many muffins available now.  Again, I assume this is because there wasn't enough demand.

So, by extenstion, I will assume that there isn't a market for a stand-alone bakery downtown, yet.  When more people start living downtown, I think it could become a very nice amenity, though.

[Towntalk]

True, but when you speak of a bakery you are talking about various styles of bread, rolls, cakes and pies, and as you know, already the large bakerys have shops that sell left over products at a drasticly reduced price, and a small bakery that doesn't have a large customer base to begin with couldn't afford to try to sell day old products along side fresh baked products.

Don't get me wrong though, I would support a downtown bakery, but we must look at it from the standpoint of a professional baker.

He would have to start by baking all his products in small quanities ... in the case of pies and cakes very small quanities as they do not hold up the way breads and rolls do.

Consider the fact that there have been folks that have tried to open bakerys in Youngstown only to close their doors because they couldn't compete with Giant Eagle and Sparkle Markets that have in house bakerys.

[jay]

There is a Plaza Donut Shop inside the WRTA Building.  The Capitol Grill, Pizza Joe's and the Yogurt Corner sell various types of cookies each day.  None of the baked items are elaborate though.

[Towntalk]

Yes, but the question is that given the costs of the materials which a small bakery couldn't get at the same price as say Giant Eagle or Sparkle Markets, plus the cost of the equipment, rent, utilities, taxes, etc. could a trained baker make enough to stay open. Would there be a large enough customer base to support a downtown bakery?

[jay]

Do you feel a small downtown bakery would be successful?

Yes or No and Why