Today we’d like to introduce you to Robbie Werner.
Robbie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My family has always loved baking – everyone from my mother and mother-in-law to all grandparents on all sides of the family, have had a knack for creating things in the kitchen. When I got married, it seemed to have been some kind of right of passage into the baking gene. I was often “stir crazy” in the kitchen and would bake for my husband and kids, and would take goodies into work – until I even baked for my boss’s wedding. I heard repeatedly that perhaps I should run a bakery of my own!
We love to travel, and on one of our many road trips years ago, our adventure was to try as many mom and pop eateries from here to Canada – and it was on that trip that the idea for my bakery was born. I wanted a piece of that pie, so to speak.
In 2009, we started making efforts toward our bakery, and in 2011 we started with pop-up shops anywhere we could! Farmers markets, breweries, and festivals we would show up at, and feed the neighborhood with our baked goods. We opened our first storefront doors in 2012, a tiny corner of a warehouse district that was all of 500 square feet. In 2015 we tripled in size, moving onto Magnolia Avenue, a hub in Fort Worth that houses the historical neighborhood and the hospital district.
Has it been a smooth road?
Growth is the hardest part! We do as much as we possibly can in as little space as we need, and end up needing more room. So twice now we have spread into other baking kitchens, to help with giving us more equipment and more elbow room. We’ve had to start over financially, to make those improvements and grow into those new spaces. But it’s so nice when we have that extra room!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I used to do everything, with the help of 2 part-time employees (a friend and my mom) – dishes, baking, packaging, selling. We worked around the clock, quite literally, until we felt a little more confident. We’ve grown to 15 employees now, and I am most proud that we have kept with our same family recipes and small batch baking with some of the best ingredients we can get our hands on.
Our cakes, pies, cookies, quiche, and everything we do in our kitchen is old fashioned with a spin. We use TX whiskey and rich, dark chocolate in our pecan pie. Our double chocolate cookie has twisted deliciously into our Mexican Hot Chocolate cookie, with just enough kick. It’s been so fun to experiment with everything!
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely! Since moving to Fort Worth in 2003, we’ve watched this city move away from the chain restaurant to a true appreciation for the little guy. It’s rewarding to be a part of that movement.
Pricing:
- 9″ cake, $40
- pie, $25
- dozen cookies, $15
Contact Info:
- Address: 1251 W. Magnolia Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76104 - Website: www.stircrazybakedgoods.com
- Phone: 817-862-9058
- Email: stircrazy@stircrazybakedgoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stircrazybakedgoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stircrazybakedgoods/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stircrazybakery
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