Home › Forums › West Seattle Food › Questions about Heavenly Bakery
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June 28, 2010 at 7:16 pm #595359
dawsonctParticipantMaybe it is a result of my timing (I am only in there after 1 P.M.), but whenever I stop in, they just have a smattering of Baking 101 items in their display cases. I was really hoping for a baker who could handle a bit more than scones, cookies, and quick breads to provide a nice addition to Bakery Nouveau, but instead seem to have gotten a vanity business that has a proprietor with an extremely limited repertoire. What kind of bakery worth their salt (and flour, yeast, sugar, etc.) opens at 9 A.M. for crying out loud?! Are they afraid of taking advantage of hungry commuters?
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Aside from the initial excitement when they were opening, I haven’t heard or read much about them. Am I stopping in too late and missing all the “good stuff?” Are they primarily a commercial operation selling off their overruns after the deliveries are finished? Am I missing out by not being there at the crack of 9 Admiralites?
June 28, 2010 at 8:21 pm #697934
JanSParticipantdawsonct, I was wondering that myself. I have been there at 10am, and what you see is what you get. They have had a sign up that says cakes coming soon, but right now I find their “repetoire” very limited. I was hoping for more and varied, as I don’t get to Nouveau much.
And don’t get a pretzel in the late afternoon…they are usually not so soft by then. From what I understand , they do business elsewhere…have even been at the Farmer’s Market, so maybe you’re on the right track.
June 28, 2010 at 8:35 pm #697935
GinaParticipantMy guess would be that the bakery was opened during the slow season for baked goods so they could add variety slowly and get a feel for foot traffic in the area.
It is just about one month that they have been open. I’d give the bakery until Labor Day to get settled in.
June 28, 2010 at 8:42 pm #697936
pamMemberI agree with all of the above – have gone in a few times to support a new business but not much in there to choose from. I can understand their being reticent about not having too much out if walk in traffic is slow, but walk in traffic needs to have some inventory to pick from. I wish them luck and will keep popping in.
June 28, 2010 at 11:00 pm #697937
JanSParticipantmost definitely give them a chance. What I’ve had there has been very good…especially if you get a warm pretzel in the morning.yum. A friend had a bretzel the other day…round pretzel dough surrounding a chocolate (semi-sweet?) chocolate center. I didn’t taste, but she seemed to enjoy it. Salty and sweet combined.
June 28, 2010 at 11:42 pm #697938
bebecatMemberEvery time I have stopped by they have been closed. :( Good for my waistline!
June 28, 2010 at 11:46 pm #697939
BlendParticipantI emailed them to say welcome to the neighborhood and got no response..so maybe they are just super busy trying to get settled.
But if they do expand their product line…my vote is for some vegan breads and pastries.
June 29, 2010 at 5:54 am #697940
spanaMemberI also noticed the limited inventory when I stopped in the first week they had opened – but damn, that was a good pretzel.
June 29, 2010 at 10:31 pm #697941
dawsonctParticipantMorningstar Bakery in Ravenna also did/does a damned fine pretzel, and also finds the time to prepare about thirty other items each day. If Heavenly’s current baker is overwhelmed by the pressure of creating baked goods, maybe they should reconsider their profession or the business model. What do you need a storefront for, if you are only going to specialize in one or two (or four) items?
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Purchasing a biscuit (scone) may make a certain amount of sense for some, at a coffee shop in the early morning rush, but making THAT a signature item of your bakery!? You can get a bag of Fisher scone mix and have them out of the oven, fresh and EDIBLE, in the time it would take to walk or drive to that place.
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I guess one of the things that bothers me, is that someone obviously has some money to start this business, but apparently doesn’t have the acumen or overall skills to really make it viable, long-term. I hope they get their stuff together, but if their grand-opening resulted in the insipid fare they offer, and their business hours reveal anything about their dedication, I hold out little hope for them.
Too bad they didn’t take all that extra money and invest it in a professional baker.
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I’m sorry if I seem a bit harsh, but for those of us in the industry, who would love to have someone invest in our dream restaurant, seeing half-hearted attempts like this, which has all the appearances of being a hobby, tends to grate at those of us who have dedicated a fair amount of our lives to the craft.
But mostly, I just want a good selection of baked goods.
June 29, 2010 at 11:01 pm #697942
BlendParticipantDawsonct, do you have a restaurant now? or just planning? Just curious.
June 30, 2010 at 1:55 am #697943
GinaParticipantThe commercial operation/farmer’s markets would seem to be the main focus of the operation. The bakery open to the public may be more of an experiment, and if that doesn’t work out the store can easily be converted totally to commercial kitchen and catering. Herban Feast Catering did that.
Blue Willow went in the opposite direction, and converted their commercial space into the Luncheonette after several years of operation, and are doing quite well.
I have never seen the brownies or the cupcakes. I’m thinking those might be more popular than the “coming soon” cakes!
And I am making a batch of Fisher scones right now.
June 30, 2010 at 7:12 pm #697944
dawsonctParticipantAlki, I’m working up a business model currently. I have never done one before, nor have I ever run my own business. Despite my complaints on this thread, my plan has a fairly limited focus, though I think specializing in my end of the industry is more expected or accepted. My restaurant will obviously not be a place to come for vegan fare, or kosher, or fresh juice, or pies. I understand not being everything for everybody and also think some of the best food in the World is created by specialists, who only do one thing, and do it better than anyone else.
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I just have a hard time with someone putting out scones and quick breads and calling themselves a “baker.” If that’s the case, than so am I, but I don’t think I would be qualified to run a bakery, and, believe me, I can bake far more technical items than HB is putting into their cases.
I don’t mean to turn this into a rant against HB, I just wanted to express my disappointment in their stunningly limited fare. I’ve seen elementary school bake sales that are more enticing.
September 1, 2010 at 3:14 pm #697945
GinaParticipantTime to go check Heavenly out again and see if anything has changed. Three months+, soft opening must be over by now.
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