Industry watch: "We are closing the doors of Nectar Bakery Cafe..."
via instagram.com
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Posted March 17, 2024 2:30 pm
But owning a small business, especially in food, is a devils bargain in our current culture. The businesses that thrive unironically in modern culture must source unethically, work their employees unethically hard, pay them unethically low wages (are you sensing a theme?), and put profits before people at every opportunity. Every small food business is struggling, as we try to behave more responsibly than our mega-corporation competitors, but can’t always raise prices enough to cover these morals. “This is America, and food should be cheap.”
We've been following the stories of a number of micro bakeries from across the country for several years now. This post is from Nectar Bakery Cafe in Spring Green, WI. While I can't say I completely agree with the absolute sentiment in the post, there is definitely truth in it.
We've noticed a burnout pattern in our industry, which is quite often compounded by the challenges small businesses face when trying to operate out of brick-and-mortar storefronts. We still operate as a cottage food business out of our home, but we are well aware of a number of challenges we and all small businesses face in our current retail environment.
If there is one thing we are certain of, it is going to take local communities and business owners to come together to figure out a new approach to building and sustaining "Main Street" business corridors as we go forward.
