The Bakery Society Pittsburgh, a bakery incubator that will support bakers-in-residence in the Mount Oliver neighborhood of Pittsburgh, held its opening ceremony last week.
Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin joined local leaders and partners in the cake-cutting ceremony.
“This project has the right ingredients to have a lasting impact on multiple facets of the community,” Davin said. “Not only will The Bakery Society Pittsburgh be providing hands-on training to bakers, the community will benefit from a filled storefront and a local place to purchase fresh-baked goods. I’m excited to watch the careers of the four bakers starting in the incubator today as their careers flourish and they open their own bakeries in the years to come.”
Four bakers-in-residence were selected and will train in all aspects of bakery operations, including finance, business strategy, and recipe experimentation.
They will use the facility of the former Kullman’s Bakery, family-owned business that closed in 2013 after more than 60 years of operation. Baked goods produced by the four bakers will be sold out of the building’s storefront. After a 12- to 18-month training program, the bakers-in-residence will begin to operate independently and profit share with the incubator to create a funding source for the next group of bakers.
“It’s not every day that investment can impact the future of multiple businesses, but with the support of the Neighborhood Partnership Program, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Governor Wolf’s commitment to developing an ecosystem where small businesses can thrive, The Bakery Society Pittsburgh is able to immediately cultivate five businesses this year alone,” Jami Pasquinelli, executive director of The Bakery Society Pittsburgh, said. “We are excited to bring the world’s first bakery incubator to Pittsburgh.”
The Bakery Society Pittsburgh received support from a state Neighborhood Partnership Program, Economic Development South, the Hillman Family Foundations, the Allegheny Conference — Strengthening Communities Partnership, Bridgeway Capital, and corporate sponsors.