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For Crystal and Chad Burnside, baking has been a long time passion and for nearly a decade, a source of income. After nine farmers market seasons, they’ve built up a dedicated fan base on Kodiak Island, and they now have a website and take special orders when they can. But they can’t push it much further. They bake out of their home, and you can only bake so much in a residential kitchen, according to Crystal.
“It’s been great, but we’ve really maxed out the amount of product that we could do from home,” Crystal said.
The solution to them is self-evident; they need to open a bakery. And they’ve found what they hope is a great place to do it. The new Kodiak Area Native Association building under construction on the site of the old AC Kraft building will have new commercial spaces in downtown Kodiak, a stone’s throw from the docks.
“It kind of felt like getting in something on the ground floor where we could design and get all of the specifications that a bakery would need. It was kind of now or never,” Crystal said.
But her husband Chad says premium spaces have a premium price tag, and they won’t be available for at least another year. And in uncertain economic times, opening a new business location is a big risk.
“Are you sure it’s gonna work? Well, no, we’re not. But in a way, yes. I mean, we have to be it’s… we’re gonna make it work. And it’s a great product. We stand behind it, obviously,” Chad said.
They’ve already begun choosing equipment for the new location- the Burnsides are looking at specialty ovens from Italy that need to be ordered at least eight months in advance. Some of this equipment will enable them to make laminated pastries, such as croissants and danishes.
They signed their lease at the end of March, and are expecting to open in March next year.