An Alaska Baker's Journey

I find that life is full of little decisions that lead us down winding paths and we can not foresee the destination ahead.  When my children were little I taught them to cook, and from there to bake bread, cookies, and cinnamon rolls.  On a regular spring day in May 2014 my then 13 year old daughter baked a couple loaves of sandwich bread for lunches as part of her homeschool assignment.   When my husband came home for lunch he made a sandwich on the fresh bread, and then took a loaf with him to share with some of the people at work.  He returned home with orders from people in the office to buy bread.  Within a couple of weeks we had established two baking days a week with regulars customers and were baking and delivering multiple loaves of bread and cookies as well as setting up at our local farmer's market.  That one day set us on a journey and a path to owning a business.   Teaching Alyssa to make cinnamon rolls Our first season at the Fa...

Bearfoot Bakery was started 8-ish years ago selling at the farmers market at the fairgrounds in Kodiak, Alaska. Over the years we've grown our product line and experience and have met many great people along the way. We've often dreamed of opening a store but it always seemed out of reach or just not the right time. Really, it never felt that we could ever be anything more than a home bakery. Last summer KANA announced plans for a new building, and we began looking into what it would take for us to open a shop. There have been many ups and downs in the 6-8 months since we began working on this project. Finances being a big one. We have worked hard to stay out of debt both as a business and personally. The equipment list has gotten long, as has the expense report. Up to this point that has been the biggest struggle. This week we signed a lease for a space. This is both terrifying and exciting. The planning, work, and money involved is overwhelming. However, we have...