BIG NEWS!!!!
Hello Friend,
I'm sitting here on my deck on this beautiful August day to have a personal heart to heart about what's next for us in the bakery business. I want to shoot straight with you, this road ain't an easy one, but it's been incredible to serve our community with fresh baked goods for many decades and many more decades to come.
Since Joel and I purchased the bakery in 2017 we've gone on such a crazy journey with you all. We renovated the Redcliff store followed by opening up our first Medicine Hat location downtown, we ran birthday parties and theme days for your kids, had our own Youtube show called "Let's Cake", opened our third retail store, and expanded all across Canada with our cake cups and squares. But enough about memory lane... ;)
If I've learned anything with my 15+ years in small business, it's the art of being adaptable. Change is necessary for a business to continue to be successful and to grow. Looking ahead a year, two years and five years down the road is refreshing and exciting for any small business on the path to success.
So I want to let you peak behind the curtain to what's been going on and what's next with us...ready?
Let's take a quick step back and let me explain...
I'll be honest, like everyone else, in 2020, Covid hit us HARD! Immediately we were faced with how to keep our 20 staff employed with less than half the sales we were used to due to COVID restrictions. It was a small business nightmare. That year, many of us only went to the grocery stores and stayed in our homes, which made us realize something big, "if grocery stores are where the people are at, then that's where we need to be too"!
This was not a quick phone call and "boom!" your product is in the big stores. No. This is developing packaging, getting nation wide approval to deliver products, solving shipping dilemmas, creating nutritional labels, sourcing new equipment, applying for grants, I could go on and on.
But you guys...we did it.
Not only did we do it, but we did it BIG! It took some years to get here but we are now in over 300 stores in 5 provinces across Canada and adding stores daily. We are growing FAST.
So fast in fact, we need more production space than we currently have available. What a great problem to have hey?!
So here's the plan...we looked at the current space that we occupy and asked ourselves how we could better utilize the space we already have to continue our growth trajectory.
...and this is the part of the story where I have a little lump in my throat...deep breath.
After this Saturday, August 31st, we are going to close down our 16th St. Medicine Hat location to the public and turn that space in to additional production space for our staff to be able to make more products.
Whew! Okay, it's out. It's not easy to type those words. I know many people enjoy the convenience of a central location in Medicine Hat. While it's not an easy decision, this will enable us to go coast to coast and make the Redcliff Bakery name a staple in every city across Canada.
So where does this leave you for your local treats?
The GOOD NEWS is, we are excited to still serve you at our Redcliff location 5 days a week (Tuesday - Saturday) for all of your favorite donuts, cinnamon buns, pastries, custom cakes, and bread :)
We wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU for your support by giving away free donuts all week long next week, September 6th -10th 2024, at our Redcliff location! Come visit us and make a purchase of any amount, and we will include a FREE donut (while supplies last)!
Thank you for sticking with me to the end of this lengthy email. I can't say enough how much we appreciate your support over the years.
Talk soon!
Melissa
I'm sitting here on my deck on this beautiful August day to have a personal heart to heart about what's next for us in the bakery business. I want to shoot straight with you, this road ain't an easy one, but it's been incredible to serve our community with fresh baked goods for many decades and many more decades to come.
Since Joel and I purchased the bakery in 2017 we've gone on such a crazy journey with you all. We renovated the Redcliff store followed by opening up our first Medicine Hat location downtown, we ran birthday parties and theme days for your kids, had our own Youtube show called "Let's Cake", opened our third retail store, and expanded all across Canada with our cake cups and squares. But enough about memory lane... ;)
If I've learned anything with my 15+ years in small business, it's the art of being adaptable. Change is necessary for a business to continue to be successful and to grow. Looking ahead a year, two years and five years down the road is refreshing and exciting for any small business on the path to success.
So I want to let you peak behind the curtain to what's been going on and what's next with us...ready?
Let's take a quick step back and let me explain...
I'll be honest, like everyone else, in 2020, Covid hit us HARD! Immediately we were faced with how to keep our 20 staff employed with less than half the sales we were used to due to COVID restrictions. It was a small business nightmare. That year, many of us only went to the grocery stores and stayed in our homes, which made us realize something big, "if grocery stores are where the people are at, then that's where we need to be too"!
This was not a quick phone call and "boom!" your product is in the big stores. No. This is developing packaging, getting nation wide approval to deliver products, solving shipping dilemmas, creating nutritional labels, sourcing new equipment, applying for grants, I could go on and on.
But you guys...we did it.
Not only did we do it, but we did it BIG! It took some years to get here but we are now in over 300 stores in 5 provinces across Canada and adding stores daily. We are growing FAST.
So fast in fact, we need more production space than we currently have available. What a great problem to have hey?!
So here's the plan...we looked at the current space that we occupy and asked ourselves how we could better utilize the space we already have to continue our growth trajectory.
...and this is the part of the story where I have a little lump in my throat...deep breath.
After this Saturday, August 31st, we are going to close down our 16th St. Medicine Hat location to the public and turn that space in to additional production space for our staff to be able to make more products.
Whew! Okay, it's out. It's not easy to type those words. I know many people enjoy the convenience of a central location in Medicine Hat. While it's not an easy decision, this will enable us to go coast to coast and make the Redcliff Bakery name a staple in every city across Canada.
So where does this leave you for your local treats?
The GOOD NEWS is, we are excited to still serve you at our Redcliff location 5 days a week (Tuesday - Saturday) for all of your favorite donuts, cinnamon buns, pastries, custom cakes, and bread :)
We wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU for your support by giving away free donuts all week long next week, September 6th -10th 2024, at our Redcliff location! Come visit us and make a purchase of any amount, and we will include a FREE donut (while supplies last)!
Thank you for sticking with me to the end of this lengthy email. I can't say enough how much we appreciate your support over the years.
Talk soon!
Melissa