Sweet Rose Bakehouse
Sweeeeeet...
Homepage: www.sweetrosebakehouse.com
Feature By: Cynthia Villalobos
Disclaimer: Please pick up a napkin prior to reading this, you will end up drooling on yourself by the time you finish this interview.
Whether you are looking for a whole sugar cream pie served with love, a scrumptious scone, or just a delicious cup-of-Joe with some friends, Sweet Rose Bakehouse is the place to go. Providing a very warm, cozy and friendly atmosphere you will never want to leave... This is Sweet Rose Bakehouse though the eyes of the owner Rose Wright.
C-buz: When was your first official day of business, and how did the day go?
Rose Wright: Our first official day was March 1st of 2011. I was surprisingly calm, but I think it was because I did not have time to be nervous. Overall, it was awesome! The turnout was great; we even had local florists bringing in flowers! It was a very celebratory day for all of us.
CB: What was the motivation behind opening Sweet Rose Bakehouse?
RW: I have always wanted to be the owner my own business and I am a huge people pleaser, so I wanted a bakery where people walked away happy. I had not given it very serious thought; it was just always a dream of mine. One day, I was driving by Terra Cotta Limited and saw their going-out-of-business sign and walked in and spoke with the owners, who ended up being great people. I asked them if they were going to be selling the building and they told me that they had planned on it. All of the sudden, I told them "I want to buy your building and open a bakery", I had not even talked to my husband about this! Luckily, the owners loved the idea. I drove home later that day and my family was gathered around in my living room. I looked at all of them and said, "I have found the perfect building to open a bakery", and my daughter-in-law said to me "No, I have found the perfect spot for a bakery, the Terra Cotta Limited building". The sign God had sent was too loud to be ignored. Two hard-working years later, here we are!
CB: Who were your biggest supporters of the Bakehouse?
RW: Well, I was always preaching to my children to go after their dreams, when I told my daughter, Kristen about it, she looked at me and said "Mom, it's time for you to go after your dream." My two sons, Nic and Jeremy, as well as both of their wives, Rachelle and Kelley were extremely supportive too. Close friends of mine were not surprised when I told them that I was going to be opening a bakery. Unbeknownst to me, I had talked about owning a bakery on many occasions so they were very happy for me as well. My church family, at Garden City Church of Christ (where I worked at for 9 years), was supportive in ways I cannot even explain. My biggest supporter was my husband; he has always wanted me to live out my dreams. He was the one who put together our business plan and he is the accountant: which is great for me because it lets me focus on the bakery.
CB: What has been the hardest thing about opening your own business?
RW: It has been very physically demanding. I have been working about 12 to 13 hours a day. This was really different for me because I was accustom to working only 3 days a week at the Garden City Church of Christ. It has been a balancing act, but I am starting to become better at it. Taking things one day at a time is helping a lot as well.
CB: What has been the most rewarding aspect about opening your own business?
RW: I love getting to meet my customers on a first name basis and reaching out to the community. I really enjoy that I can give the lonely a gift, for example I have a gentleman that comes in once a week by himself, and you can see that he enjoys the single slice of pie that he gets. I really feel like this is a ministry sometimes, because of the love and people that are here. Also, I have had prayers with a few customers that I have greatly appreciated. I truly enjoy seeing families come in with their children. We actually put in windows that are over one hundred years old so that kids could watch us. I want this to be a very fun environment. Seeing my staff supporting myself and each other has truly been rewarding as well. Also hearing my children tell me that they are proud of me has been the absolute most rewarding part of opening my dream business.
CB: I was eating breakfast here the Saturday before Easter, the traffic coming in and out of the bakehouse was nonstop, I also heard one of the employees saying that you had over 20 preordered pies to make! It seems like Columbus has received having its own bakehouse very well. How do you think you will handle the highly growing demand?
RW: Well, that was our first holiday and it was our busiest weekend, but it ended up being very successful. It took careful planning and lots of staff input; I plan on carrying that on. We have also been thinking about doing some "seasonal menus", which should help out with the busy holidays. I also make everything from scratch, so even when we do have a lot of pies to make we are not a pie factory and I think it is important that people know that about us.
CB: Have you, or do you plan on having any community involvement?
RW: We have had some involvement with the local schools, but right now we are taking things one day at a time and keeping an ear open for community events. I have thought about putting events, like a mother daughter night, on at the bakery and perhaps even teaching baking classes here. So, stay tuned for that!
CB: This is such a wonderful alternative to the other so-called "coffee shops" of Columbus. Did you plan that happening?
RW: I wanted a place where Kristen, my daughter, and her peers could relax and drink some coffee; as well as a warm and welcoming family environment.
CB: You've done a great job at that Rose.
CB: Where can people find out more about the bake house?
RW: We have a website, which is still in progress, at www.sweetrosebakehouse.com and we are on Facebook.
CB: Anything else you want people to know?
RW: I give God the glory, this is his business and I am just making it happen.
“I want people to know that we are much more than a bakery; this is a place where people can come and feel welcome.”
My husband and I visited every bakery from here to Nashville, Tennessee doing research and hope that it shows in our work. We are still in such amazement that it is going this well for us. As you may also notice our walls are a little bare, but I have a plan for fixing that. I happen to (literally) run into Susie Gregory one evening as I was leaving the bakehouse and she asked for some cookies, having already closed out for the day, I gave them to her. While she was waiting for me to wrap up the cookies she stated that my walls needed art and that she was an artist. So that gave Susie the idea to put her art up in the bakehouse. The art should be coming soon and will be available for purchase as soon as it arrives.
Sweet Rose Bakehouse now provides free Wi-Fi! Some of their menu items include; Sugar Cream Pie, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, melt in your mouth Sweet Rolls and delicious coffee all at low prices. The hours of operation are Tuesday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 12pm. Visit Sweet Rose Bakehouse located at 1604 Home Avenue (Corner or Home and 16th) to enjoy the experience yourself.