Little Blue Bakehouse is a kitchen incubator that’s larger than life when it comes to mixing up happiness with sweet treats and beverages. Allison Vick (pictured below with her business partner and husband Carl) is the Chef/Co-owner of Little Blue Macaron and Little Blue Bakehouse.
In 2018, she and Carl moved back to North Carolina from Austin, TX after their son was born. Allison had previously worked as a Pastry Chef in Austin restaurants before creating Little Blue Macaron, where she popped up at local markets like the Downtown Cary Farmer’s Market for a few years before growing a wholesale base and private client list.
She shares, “When we wanted to open a brick-and mortar, my husband had the idea for the Bakehouse.” Little Blue Bakehouse houses a collection of small businesses offering varying delicacies including cupcakes, cookies, macarons, artisanal pastries, and even boozy baked goods.
Including:
What inspired you to open Little Blue Bakehouse?
After working in a commercial kitchen for over three years and seeing how it operated, we realized that there weren’t a lot of commissary spaces geared towards sweets makers. Often, there are 60+ food based businesses – mostly food trucks and caterers – sharing stovetops and just a handful of ovens. There usually isn’t an option for folks to sell their products out of those kitchens; you have to run things out to the parking lot or focus on delivery only.
Our dream was for Little Blue Bakehouse to be a commercial kitchen space just for sweets makers, where everyone has enough access to the ovens and equipment they need, and we could easily share space if needed since most of us make similar products. Most importantly, we wanted it to be a place where our members could retail their baked goods in the same place they make them and gather retail experience without having to commit to their own brick-and-mortar (which is a huge financial investment).
We want to be a stepping stone for small sweets businesses to grow and figure out which direction they’d like to take their operations.
What is it like working so closely with fellow bakers?
It’s really exciting and inspiring – I feel like we are constantly bouncing ideas off of each other and coming up with new products. We take each other’s advice on how best to market our items, how to take good photos, which markets are the best to participate in, etc. It feels a lot like a community where we all have each other’s backs (especially when you run out of brown sugar, or limes, or whatever else your neighbor might have that you immediately need!).
How has this concept been received by the community?
We’ve been overwhelmed with the support from our surrounding community. Carl and I live in the same neighborhood where LBB exists, so we’ve had a chance to meet a lot of our neighbors – who are now our regulars.
We really strive to be a community spot where our guests can come and hang out, work for a few hours, or stop by with the whole family just before hitting the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater. We try our best to give back to our immediate community as often as we can, either with donated treats, gift cards for fundraising events, or any other way possible. We really want to make an impact here.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of opening LBB?
Honestly just being able to talk to folks who stop in every day, tell them about our concept, talk about their favorite treats from all of our amazing bakers – it’s the best. When we were working out of a commercial kitchen with no retail outlet, especially during the pandemic, we really missed that human connection. Now we get to experience it almost every day, and it’s the best feeling.
Plus, we get to work with some of Raleigh’s best sweet makers every day (and even get to sample their new products first) – that can’t be beat!
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
Beyond being a kitchen incubator for small bakery businesses, we’re also a full scale coffee shop. We would love for you to swing by for your beverage needs as well as for your sweet cravings.
How can they best support your business?
We’re truly a mom-and-pop operation here, and we cherish the support of our regular customers (and new visitors) more than you can imagine. Unique, independent businesses are the lifeblood of the Triangle. As the economic landscape constantly changes, we will all be relying on the folks in our communities to come by as often as they can, or spread the word to their friends and family.
Find Little Blue Bakehouse:
2116-H New Bern Avenue, Raleigh, NC
(next door to Alamo Drafthouse)
Follow on Instagram:
@littlebluebakehousenc
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