If you were opening your own bakery which was open to the public (or you already have one), how would you set it up? Would it be walk in only with just display counters and a cash register? Or would you have tables and chairs where folks could sit down and eat? Would prefer it as a corner shop of a strip mall or as a free-standing building? Would you serve just pastries, or would you add coffee, or would you branch out into breads, sandwiches, soups, etc as well?

What else would you include that wasn't already listed?

Hum, I think I would like a free standing building with seating. I'd serve coffee, tea sandwiches, pastries, truffles and of course cake. I would still want it to be very cozy and down to earth.

Hi,

I would want to have a free standing building. With dummy cake displays all over. In one section I would have a very cozy area for seating with coffee and tea and samples of my goodies.

I have dreamed about this! I would like to have a free standing building but I think a strip location would be fine as long at it was in the vicinity of many restaurants. By day, I would have a walk-in building with cozy seating as well as a drive-up window. By night, the facilty would work like a dessert bar, hence the need for many restaurants around me. I would sell cookies, cakes and pies (by the slice or whole) as well as some lovely ice cream desserts. I would offer an assortment of teas along with a few flavored coffees as well as some flavored liquers and alcoholic beverages for nighttime. That's my dream! I haven't found the financial means or the right location, but, it's always in the back of my mind! Someday......

Well all good ideas so far.
I personally would like a place doesnt matter if its 1 building or a stripmall
but very down home countrified kinda place a few mixmatched tables and chairs and cool stuff around antique like. Very mellow place with coffee tea sandwich and dessert stuff by slice or whole.But it should have a catchy kind of name.

I want mine to be in a little cottage with white picket fence around it, a lot of plants and flowers behind the picket fence. Kind of like the Hansel and Gretel little house look.

OR

I also like the Baroque look since Gold is my favorite color.

prettycake, you totally stole my bakery idea!(jk) I've dreamed of a little cottage house as a bakery. with cobblestone driveway. or a paved drive/walkway where the little grass grows between each stone(alot of detail, i know)

My dream bakery is a quaint shop with seating. Large display cases filled with pastries, pies and cookies and cakes. A small sandwich operation with coffees, teas and smoothies. A small room off of the main for cake testing and ordering. I would love for it to be in like a refurbished old building 1930's style architecture or something Frank LLoyd Wrightish.

Oh, I know just what it would look like! I want a old home, gutted and built on to. The new part would be a large all stainless kitchen, and the front would be decorated in lace and antiques. I would want it to have small rooms set up for lunch, but have walls taht could beopened up for parties and teas. I want to do cakes and catering. I love the little foo-foo finger foods and small desserts! That's my dream!

*sighs* I would just love to have a decent size store around several restaurants and shopping areas. That way I could lure customers in with my dummy cakes all around as well as my delicious little pastries and tea cakes to munch on. Of course there would be tea and coffee selections to boot. But the kitchen would be a stainless steel marvel. All ovens and mixers whirlin away. Then of course there would be the smell of fresh breads and pies baking to make you feel all comfy cozy too. The eating area would be all warm woods and antique style pics of old bakeries and bakers all over. We would sell cakes and pies by the slice and whole as well. Have big display cases filled with all the goodies we make. But we would specialize in whimsical cakes for all occasssions. The more fairytale and happily- ever- after like the better! The girls in the shop working would wear mauve and white stripped aprons too! Why? I dunno, just see it that way in my head.

My ideal store would be free standing, but it wouldn't be limited to cakes. I love the idea of opening a complete wedding/party/event planning business and it would be very professional. It would be a team effort type thing, I would have the final approval, but I would have a maybe 2 or three florists, cake decorators, and general planners. Maybe a personal assistant. I imagine having a display window and when one walks in, they are greeted by a receptionist. It would start out small, but would eventually grow to something of that stature.

SO SO many good ideas and wonderful dreams on here....I hope all your dreams are relized and just glow with all the hope and love there is!

I keep thinking about this. I keep coming back to this post. I live in a rather upwardly mobile suburban area. I found a building I love! I'm just not in any financial shape to even think about taking that on - yet.

It's a lovely stone and brick strip mall in front of a large gourmet grocery and a movie theater. Parking is wonderful. Traffic flow in and out is easy. The building would be perfect, as is the location and area it's in. I want one of the end units! (preferably the north side so everything didn't melt from the sun! LOL) Black awnings.

I'd love something kind of European looking. A lot of comforting old world touches with a modern edge. I want it to be a pastry shop. No sandwiches or lunch. An indulgence type place. (it's an untapped niche in this area too) Open only until 3 or 4 pm.

Menu would be cakes, pies, morning pastries, tarts, single serving sized wonderful desserts, maybe some chocolates. I'm undecided on breads. There's so many places that do that well, why compete, ya know? Coffees, teas, basic soft drinks, lemonade. Orders would be great. Maybe I'd host a monthly specialty events like Mom's teas, birthday celebrations, etc.

I know that moms will bring children, so I want a children's area - glassed off so mom can see them, but soundproof for the rest of the customers who don't want screaming kids running around. (Yeah, I know that probably means a full-time staff member for that area, but I'm okay with that!)

Dreaming big, eh?

Cuppy

If you dare to dream....DO IT BIG!!!!!

In the words of Donald Trump:

"If you're going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big!"

I don't want a retail space right now! Just a licensed kithcen on my property would be fabulous!

Ok this should be post number 1000!!!!

I would like free-standing building in downtown chicago with bold colors, soft, clean music (nohting raucny, racy, or obscene) in the background, bright display cases, an area where customers can watch cakes and cupcakes get iced/decorated, a few small tables for those who insist on eating their desserts right then and there. And I would also like one in the suburbs of chicago, same format, maybe a bit bigger since there is more space in the suburb, maybe located close to one the many malls that are out there, but not in the mall. I don't want people to have to go to the mall just get my desserts. And I don't want my hours to be dependent on the mall's hours.

Hmm...haven't thought much about the building itself but I don't think it would matter all that much to me... Just as long as I have a biiiiig window to display things in. The inside would have one room for the display cakes, etc, a couch and some chairs and coffee table with my portfolio on it. Then there would be the massive kitchen of course and then my office in the back with my desk and also a table and chairs for when I meet with clients to bake their cakes. For the walls I'm thinking a greenish color with black and white photography (courtesy of me) all over the place

The building next door to me was the FIRST bakery in my town and my home was the original owner's home. So, I would want it! Antique display cases, original brick walls, a couple of vintage tables and chairs. Kitchen area would be all stainless steel with LOADS of storage space, commercial size EVERYTHING. I would serve coffees, teas, and "dainties". Sigh! What a lovely dream on a rainy day. But, now, I must start baking a wedding cake!

I want something like this
http://www.eyeconart.net/Suzy/commissions/victorian.jpg

On a main street in a quaint but busy little town. I want a bakery/coffee shop on the bottom floor. I would have cases with cakes and pasteries. There would be tables with pretty table cloths with a real down home country feel. We would serve sandwiches for lunch and serve coffee all day. This would give a daily income as well as we would offer specialty cakes.

The top floor would be renovated for my family to live in.

I would want a bakery that is also a coffee/tea shop. Set up like "Central Perk" on Friends with the big cozy sofas and chairs. Mellow, where people could come and hang out and have coffee with a big slab of cake to go with it

Patticakes that's like reading my mind!!!

I want something that meshes well with the rest of our town, small quaint but busy, all stores MUST be brick front to meet the standards of the town. I'd like it to be a two story homey feel where the living space is all upstairs seperate kitchen and bathroom downstairs, as well as a sitting area with sofas and comfy chairs tables with magazines on them somewhere cozy to sit and relax.

I'd like to have a refrigerated case where I could keep fresh goodies available by the slice or by the whole, I'd like to have a place where we can sit down and discuss an order in full, with a photo book of all my cakes previously made and designs I'm willing to recreate in our own way. I'd like to have a NICE BIG kitchen and work area, where everything isn't cramped and crowded lol.

I'd like to have an old timey feel to the place with like antique looking wall paper and pictures and light fixtures and so on. Country antique type place. Also would like to have a spread of fresh cakes for two, cupcakes, cookies, cake truffels, etc. Also offering coffee and tea hot and cold.

At night I'd be filling orders and making goodies for the next day. Probably being open only friday saturday and sunday as most business in our area is jumping only on weekends. That way I can spend the week days making goodies ahead of time and preparing larger orders. Dreaming is such a wonderful thing lol.

Right now I'd settle for being able to use the firehall's kitchen so I could be licensed..... Maybe will be looking into that after the first of the year

Good luck with all your dreams everyone let your heart sore!!

well, as long as we're dreaming...a free standing building, maybe from the 30's. i'd love to have seating both inside and out. maybe some old ice cream parlor type seating..white wrought iron, maybe with some colorful tablecloths. brightly colored walls inside with whimsical paintings:pies, cakes, flying cupcakes. lot's of pies, tortes, decorated cookies, colorful cakes and fun decorated cupcakes. coffee, tea, cold milk. large chalkboard signs hanging. and to top it off a giant ice cream machine and all the toppings you could imagine......ooohhh do i have to wake up....

It's in the "Old City" part of town. That's the part of town where all the "nightlife" is, as well as a bunch of cool little boutiques/restaurants.

All the store fronts are really old and "brick-ey" over there. And, well--when you would walk in, you'd have original, 120 year old hardwood underfoot, old chandeliers above your head. The smell of good coffee and bakery delights would be intoxicating...

After your order is taken, you could either lounge on a comfy old velvet couch, or in one of the cushy chairs by the fireplace. You could entertain yourself with one of the hundreds of cool books from the bookshelves at hand, or by checking out the huge, newspaper sized prints of news articles of Old Knoxville on the walls.

And when your coffee/tea/beverage of choice arrives to you, it's in an old and unique (probably flea-market find) glass or mug or tea cup. Yours is different from everyone else's in your party.

Up at the counter, you'd see about 5 different kinds of cakes and pastries to pick from. There are people in and out all day picking up their custom desserts for the parties on the weekends.

I'm open super early, and open super late...There's always an officer milling in for a free cup of coffee or a Coke--along with a nice piece of cake or pastry.

The fire burns on cold, rainy Smoky Mountain days. And it's cool and refreshing on the hot ones...

*opens eyes now and clears throat, while coming back to reality*

AHEM! Who? Wha?....Oh! Hi, Y'all!

Those are just a few of my musings.

--Knox--

You must see "Stranger than Fiction" with Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal. She has a to-die-for bakery in the movie and that is my dream. In the movie, she dropped out of law school to have a bakery, and in real life, I am a paralegal who would love to become a full-time bakery, so it really caught my attention.

Free standing or part of a quaint shopping area doesn't matter. I just want out of my home kitchen and into my own place

I may actually have a chance to open my own bakery next year. My husband is planning on opening a restaurant with a unique concept. He's discussed leasing a large space, enough space for us to split so that my bakery can sub-lease from his restaurant. I don't want to share kitchen space with his chef/staff. LOL So I've been thinking a lot about what I want it to look like. I know I will have individual and whole cakes, cookies, a few pastries and maybe some pies. I will also make desserts exclusive to his restaurant. He wants me to also make all their breads but I've never made bread so I'll have to start learning pretty soon. I think I'd like the design to be very elegant and European. Picture a damask pattern in a rich cocoa brown. I'd like to serve just gourmet coffee and tea in a small but cozy front area with a display window. The kitchen would definitely be more modern and very clean. Probably white and stainless with just a few spashes of color. And of course I'd have to have a very nice and professional office for all the paperwork and meeting appointments.

I don't know if what I end up with will live up to my dream but I will definitely be glad to have a commercial kitchen and be able to advertise and tell people about it. I was approached by a store owner to donate a cake to serve 300-400 people for the local guidedog foundation. I'd love to be able to do this but I fear the HD so I had to decline.

Oh well, back to dreaming for now.

my ideal bakery would not so much be the space itself but enough staff, that i wouldnt have to do any and i do mean ANY clean-up....LOL.....I could never do this as a living...I would go nuts in about 4 days!

I want something like Duff's place.....a plain jane two story brick building with a simple sign and a door bell, receptionist and several cake artists working in the studio Art District.

And I want tons of business where I would have to turn away orders, because I am so busy teaching, traveling, book signing tours and attending conventions........

Ohmygoodies. Here is the heartbreaking part. I live next to a town called Lincolnton. Downtown there is just so nice and quaint. Well guess what. I saw the other day a building for sale. Perfect for my dream. It is 4050 sq ft and 2 story. Beautiful storefront windows and on the corner! They only want $199,000 for it too.

Man, why can't I win the lottery!

Gosh! Ive literally been dreaming of this for over two years! We have a building right on our main route through town that would be the greatest place for a bakery. It has its own parking lot and sits on a corner with easy access to the main road and the downtown area.

I can see the brightly lit glass cases full of my creations. I would want to serve fresh baked items for breakfast and lunch (maybe do a sandwich/soup or sandwich/salad special every day). I see this cozy sitting area (one wall painted a burgundy color and the other walls a warm tan color) with six tables where folks could sit down and enjoy their food. Id also serve flavored coffees/teas and all of these items would be available for takeout as well. And Id like to have a covered deck (this place has one already) so that during the spring/summer/fall months, customers can sit out side in the fresh air and enjoy the view of a beautiful flower garden (would have to find a gardener for that).

I would have a full service stainless steel kitchen with lots of room to work and lots of lighting. I would want a large office for clerical work and a nice big table to lay out my books and photos when working with a potential client. Id want a huge window to display all my dummy cakes.

WOW!! I love all this dreaming! Maybe someday!