Huntsville need a nice bakery/pastry shop (Valley: hotels, weddings)

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

Curious what the food culture is like in the Huntsville area... could it use a nice pastry shop/bakery?

We're thinking of a possible move.

Here's some of my work:

Pastry

[Reactionary]

Huntsville's current offerings include:

Peggy Ann Bakery

Peggy Ann Bakery - Huntsville, Alabama, wedding cakes, birthday cakes, muffins, pastries, cookies, party trays, cheese straws, gift baskets

Ellen's Cakes

Ellen's Creative Cakes, Inc.

Cakes, Etc.

Cakes etc** located next to the Huntsville Times

Gigi's Cupcakes

Gigi's Cupcakes best wedding custom cupcakes caterer bakery

And the very popular FredBread

FredBread Really Baked in Huntsville

Plus, Huntsville has a busy Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and Dunkin' Donuts plans to open several stores in the area. IIRC there might be cookie stores in the malls.

Given the popularity of FredBread and the longevity of Peggy Ann Bakery, Huntsville may be worthy of further research. However, the local economy is fairly jittery and uncertain right now...

[FCEddie]

Originally Posted by BillyBobJoeBobWilly

Curious what the food culture is like in the Huntsville area... could it use a nice pastry shop/bakery?

We're thinking of a possible move.

Here's some of my work:

Pastry

I want to eat that.

I would recommend looking to the west of the city, of course I live west of the city, so it would be better for me.

New hospital, growing population, new shopping centers... that sort of thing.

[RatSnake]

Most of the new residents have been settling on the west side. The west side might be more receptive to this as these new residents don't have established preferences yet for local favorites ...

But the inverse might be true too ...

When we came here about 4 years ago, we were always looking for familiar tastes ... bakeshops, coffee shops etc. ... anything that would remind you of your old home...

[RocketCityMama]

IMO yes. I just looked through the list of websites the previous poster provided and while I did know of those businesses, they do not seem to offer a true bakery/pastry shop that in my thoughts would be to go sit down and enjoy some yummy foods and a cup of coffee. They are more of a special order cake type thing, which do very well for weddings and such I am sure.

We have standard starbucks and a few random coffee shops with some pastries, but to have a real deal pasty/bakery shop, I would be in heaven!

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

Originally Posted by RocketCityMama

IMO yes. I just looked through the list of websites the previous poster provided and while I did know of those businesses, they do not seem to offer a true bakery/pastry shop that in my thoughts would be to go sit down and enjoy some yummy foods and a cup of coffee. They are more of a special order cake type thing, which do very well for weddings and such I am sure.

We have standard starbucks and a few random coffee shops with some pastries, but to have a real deal pasty/bakery shop, I would be in heaven!

Thanks! We need to be careful though as we thought we'd have that kind of reception in our current location. We are providing resort level, first class hand made pastries which came from a 20 year span working in resort hotels. A professional pastry background, not housewife turned cake decorator. But while we offer such quality in our current location we get many people here who are looking for doughnuts and cheap, preservative laden krap-0-la you'd find in Walmart. So, our next move needs to be well thought out.

I was thinking of the Huntsville area because of the tech environment which means more professionals which equals more with money to spend for higher quality items. And because of the Asian influence there. Both my wife and I like things the Asian community offer.

[HB2HSV]

I think an ideal location for your bakery would be in the Bridge Street Mall, or the Park Place Mall, in Huntsville. These are the two higher-end malls and I have yet to see a bakery in there. The former is an outdoor mall and the later is an indoor mall.

I too would enjoy the traditional bakery shop here. You can provide a stable of daily needs like freshly baked bread, along with the fine pastries you offer. This will get people into the shop even if they only buy breads. If you can make a variety of Asian bread, that will be a treat for Huntsville. We used to go to Asian bakery in So. Cal. and enjoy taste different varieties each time.

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

I think an ideal location for your bakery would be in the Bridge Street Mall, or the Park Place Mall, in Huntsville. These are the two higher-end malls and I have yet to see a bakery in there. The former is an outdoor mall and the later is an indoor mall.

I too would enjoy the traditional bakery shop here. You can provide a stable of daily needs like freshly baked bread, along with the fine pastries you offer. This will get people into the shop even if they only buy breads. If you can make a variety of Asian bread, that will be a treat for Huntsville. We used to go to Asian bakery in So. Cal. and enjoy taste different varieties each time.

Ahh... are you from Socal? I lived there for 6 years (Costa Mesa, Newport beach area).. and loved it. but can't afford it now. If you lived there before, how do you like Huntsville in comparison?

tks.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by BillyBobJoeBobWilly

Ahh... are you from Socal? I lived there for 6 years (Costa Mesa, Newport beach area).. and loved it. but can't afford it now. If you lived there before, how do you like Huntsville in comparison?

tks.

Small world! I lived in Huntington Beach for 10 years and previously in S.F. Valley & Thousand Oaks. Since HB is not far from the little Saigon, we love to visit, eat Pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) and buy breads & cakes from local bakeries.

Huntsville is obviously a lot smaller in comparison, but it is really a hidden jem. If you take So. Cal. and eliminate the super poor & the super rich, and multiply the population by 10%, that would be the Huntsville area (population ~250K). It has a lot of well-paid engineers & gov't contractors that moved from all over the country to here. This couples with a relatively low housing prices ($500K can get you a mansion here), as result they are flooded with cash. The best news is the city is still growing to meet this demand, there still little national chain restaurants here like the cheese cake factory, etc. This presents a good business opportunity for small business owners.

The other factor is the numerous businessmen come into town to discuss with their Army & NASA customers. They are always looking for good places to eat. The Bridge Stret Mall and the corner of University & 255 are where the lunch crowds go. Since they are on business expense account during travel, they love to visit high-end places, even for a bakery.

[BillyBobJoeBobWilly]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

Small world! I lived in Huntington Beach for 10 years and previously in S.F. Valley & Thousand Oaks. Since HB is not far from the little Saigon, we love to visit, eat Pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) and buy breads & cakes from local bakeries.

Huntsville is obviously a lot smaller in comparison, but it is really a hidden jem. If you take So. Cal. and eliminate the super poor & the super rich, and multiply the population by 10%, that would be the Huntsville area (population ~250K). It has a lot of well-paid engineers & gov't contractors that moved from all over the country to here. This couples with a relatively low housing prices ($500K can get you a mansion here), as result they are flooded with cash. The best news is the city is still growing to meet this demand, there still little national chain restaurants here like the cheese cake factory, etc. This presents a good business opportunity for small business owners.

The other factor is the numerous businessmen come into town to discuss with their Army & NASA customers. They are always looking for good places to eat. The Bridge Stret Mall and the corner of University & 255 are where the lunch crowds go. Since they are on business expense account during travel, they love to visit high-end places, even for a bakery.

Cool, I know Huntington Beach very well.. I lived there first before moving to the Costa Mesa/NPB line (16th Street). And, Little Saigon.. would go there every weekend just about. Near there was the Goldenwest Community college where every weekend was this huge flea market. I used to hit that every weekend.. At that time I was working in IT as a computer programmer for a small financial company in Anaheim. So, it seems I could find some kind of work in the Huntsville area if we didn't want to open a business right away. Twenty years in Baking/Pastry and Ten plus years in IT.

I also enjoy woods, camping, and outdoors. I have a Jeep (83 Scramber) which is a treat to drive in the country, in the fresh air.

Thanks for your post! It helps a bunch!