CORTEZ – On April 9, the fifth anniversary of the Breezy Bakery’s opening, owner Bri Suzano expressed gratitude on a Facebook post for being able to do what she loves. But she also reflected on the serious challenges she is facing as a small business owner.
Six mornings a week, she begins at 5 p.m., baking everything fresh for the day; and she said she loves what she does.
“Five years later – MY BAKERY IS STILL OPEN!” she recently wrote on Facebook. “That itself is something to be proud of. Not to mention my two beautiful children, five amazing employees, 1,000s of orders, 100s of new friends, and endless memories created!”
She wrote that she was grateful for a life full of love and support.
“Thank you, everyone, for these wonderful years. For letting me be part of your birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, celebrations and all the wonderful things in between,” she wrote. “The amazing family I have created here is one of the greatest gifts in my life.”
Along with the support she has received and the fulfillment of her dream of owning a bakery, she also wrote, “That all being said, numbers don’t lie. Our sales are half of what they used to be, with traffic, construction and a serious lack of visibility, I’m at my wits’ end.”
“I baked my heart out on Friday and Saturday for Easter and it was just dead,” she told The Sun.
Breezy Bakery features an assortment of muffins, croissants, breads, cakes, brownies, cookies, cupcakes and pies. At the end of each day, unsold products are either donated or discarded.
“I can’t keep making these beautiful, wonderful things just to watch traffic for six hours on the weekends stop everyone from coming in,” Suzano wrote in her Facebook post. “My food doesn’t have preservatives, or chemicals, or anything that will help it stay fresh on the counter for several days. That’s why we bake fresh every day, but baking for waste is heartbreaking.”
She thanked family and friends for their support, but she’s now reaching out to the community as a whole.
“I need to call in my troops! And I mean, my bakery family! This is not one of those pity posts, just looking to bring in people for a short amount of time. I need a real solution here,” she wrote on Facebook. “I run a tight ship at my shop, and still I can barely cover my bills, let alone the rising cost of everything! I am willing to try, to work, to push, to grind, but I am not willing to give up!”
Bob Slicker, the former owner of the neighboring Slicker’s Eatery that recently closed, has been coming in early some days to help Suzano prepare for the day.
“She makes everything fresh with a lot of love,” Slicker said. “Any business can survive if the locals get behind it. I think if people from town realized that traffic is not an issue now, they would come out and support her.”
He admired her fortitude, attitude and insistence on quality.
“How many small businesses can go through COVID and the hurricanes and still survive?” Slicker said. “I don’t think people really understand how hard it is for a business to get back on its feet after the hurricanes.”
Breezy Bakery is located at 11904 Cortez Road W. and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit Breezy Bakery online at the Breezy Bakery website.
