Well, it happened again! the last three weeks have been something else...
Three weeks ago Sunday was the first Northside Farmers Market back and like everyone is experiencing, it's a whole new world with many unknowns. So I wanted to make a good amount of bakery items but not go too crazy in case the farmers market patrons were still leery about getting out and about with COVID-19 still dangling over our heads.
I made one tub of dough which is anywhere between 85 and 120 pastries, depending on which type I am making. I felt that it was a pretty good guess. Lucky me had her trusty bakery companion and friend Elle to help out. We made the goodies, packaged the goodies and hustled down to the market right at 8:30 to get set up. Amazingly, every last pastry was snapped up by customers by 10:30 a.m.! Wow!
So, the second weekend, I doubled production and made two tubs. Okay, so that's roughly 170-240 pastries, give or take a few. We had the new team member, Jacina, join Elle and myself for morning production and it was a blast. A little hustling and we got down to the market, got the pavilion up and the pastries ready. And wow again! Completely sold out by 10:30 a.m.!
Last weekend was a little tougher, Jacina couldn't make it so Elle and I TRIPLED production by ourselves. I rushed down to the market late to find a queue of 10-15 people WAITING for me and the bakery goodness to arrive. I didn't even bother with the pavilion, it was bedlam. Once again, 10:30 was the magic time and every single last pastry was gone. I'm having Eau Claire Farmers Market flashbacks because it's the same time that I used to sell out by. Holy moly.
However, these days I'm in a much better position to meet this latest challenge. This weekend will be quadruple production, and I hope to have enough products to last the length of the market. It's a good...no, GREAT problem to have right now.
In the wake of a pandemic, civil unrest highlighting the very real problems facing people of color, and economic downturns causing some other local bakeries to close - the Northside Farmers Market continues to be an island of peacefulness in the midst of one of the toughest moments that this country has faced in a long time. If we can keep wearing our masks, keep acting and pushing for legislation that says that black lives matter, keep reaching out to our neighbors who may be struggling, and just keep on keeping on - we'll get through this. We are each other's keepers. Thank you all for being mine.
~Marie
