VGB Season 2
Hello Friends!
Season two officially kicked off on the May long weekend! Such a great weekend it was, and it was so amazing to see so many familiar faces….and to have the band back together!
We baked up a storm - and you cleaned us out by 2:30 on Sunday! The next week - we had MORE than enough goodies for you and with the hot weather we didn’t sell out…which tells us a story in it self. We don’t have any history on sales or activity so we are constantly learning and gathering data to help us better optimize our supplies. We want to sell out of course, but we don’t also want to leave you hanging.
Milestone Mania!
So many milestones have been hit just the last month!
First off (and I think most’ish importantly) - on April 19th is was the one year signing of my lease. On April 26 we finally got the keys to the building and we got to see first hand how much work we had facing us….and as you know it was a lot….but clearly that didn’t slow us down.
Next Milestone - May long 2022 weekend! On the long weekend - with the water on - we were finally able to really start on the clean up and reno’s. The community showed up in droves to help us kick off the many projects we had on our to-do lists. We couldn’t have pulled off last season without this epic kick off and all the support that followed.
Fast forward one year to May long 2023 and we OPENED our ovens and doors for season TWO.
We officially have THREE weekends under our belt - THREE more compared to the 2022 season.
The Village Green Bakery will continue to be open weekends leading up to the gate closing - 11 am to 4 pm. The actual 7 days a week date is still to be determined - we have a lot of staff that are graduating this year — including my own Jackson! As you can imagine we have to work around team availability and of course customer demands.
So Proud of our Grads of 2023:
Ethan A* - JH Bruns
Margo K* - Grant Park
Sasha T - St.Pauls
Dylan P* - St.Pauls
Jackson Z - St.Pauls
*Newbies to VGB Rumor Has It !
Sooo proud every one is - and so happy their community has a bakery open.
I have gotten lots of “advice” about baking more… trust me when I say we have and we will continue to….it turns out you just love our baking, which is pretty cool don’t you think?
We did sell out the first weekend (whoop), and was able to have lots of extra goodies in stock for the past couple of weekends. We also noticed that this HOT weather (much like last summer) actually reduces the number of visitors to the bakery. We continue to watch the numbers and adapt as we go.
The coffee program that was hinted at and talked about in social media has gotten a lot of positive feedback. It will launch very soon - maybe even before the gates close. Some insight is the community is willing to pay more if there are goodies available! Since I can’t guarantee at this time - we will keep it as is, and adapt as we go.
We sampled and introduced a new massive cookie (BAC) - and received only amazing and delish comments. More comments of ‘make it now’ and ‘no changes’ lol melts my heart. More sampling will continue throughout the season….who doesn’t like free stuff - aka samples??
We also introduced a new Macaroon Cookie - Gluten and DAIRY friendly. We will continue to explore new receipts to support our Gluten and Dairy free community. We currently do carry the popular Macaron (not to be confused with a Macaroon) and GF cupcakes.
And finally lots and lots of love for the Ginger cookies and Carrot cakes - like A LOT of love. So much so that Barbie has upped her batches 5 times…it helped that I got her a new mixer with bigger capacity.
VGB Events !
With a couple weekends under our belt, and a sneak peak at the VB schedule I have one date to announce, and early registration for future events to share with you!
Repeat events are looking to come back - Kids Bike Jam, Amazing Race (fingers crossed), Carving with Dan the Carver, and potentially new : Knife Sharpening Service/Clinic, Entertainment, Book Club (aka Grown ups with Wine and Cookies) and more! Keep a watch!
NEW to VGB : Kids Market Fair
July 23 - VGB Green Space
10 am to Noon
I am excited to introduce a Kid Market that is designed for KIDS to showcase and sell their ‘stuff’ …. and hopefully for them to make some money.
We are looking for crafters, artists, sign makers, jewelry designers, tennis/golf ball re-sellers, bakers, weavers, knitters, collectors and all other creative ideas that they would like to make/bring and sell at the VGB Kid Market.
Registration for Kids Cookie Decorating
VGB cookie decorating will be a family friendly event - parents are encouraged to join their kids while they play with cookie dough, decorate cookies and their own apron and of course eat cookies. Snacks and socializing will be available for grown ups (no cleaning required).
Dates to be released soon. Estimated fee $35/kiddo.
2023 Calendar
I am working on a calendar that will be updated frequently with the upcoming events at VGB, but also events that are being hosted in and around VB where we will also be involved.
There are lots of ‘ideas’ in my heart/head, and hosting other entrepreneurs, in our Bakery yard.
If you have an event that you would like to see VGB at, sponsoring, supporting or just showing up at (aka you want your event on the schedule for all to see) - drop me an email at information@villagegreenbakery.com
Fun Insights into Season TWO of VGB
Kids love asking and eating our 💩 cookiesWe are getting a new freezer on Friday - thank goodnessBAC (Big A** Cookies) & Gluten Friendly Macarooooons - are a hit!Samples are very popular!JM is obsessed over VGB Nuts & BoltsGoofs have more pink sprinkles than any other colour6 Packs of assorted cookies are more popular than Face or Imperial 6 Packs - but Imperials are the most popular individual cookie.Employee & Visitor Parking - aka a new Bike Rack - has been built by the fabulous volunteers/community members of VB. Thank you Shelia, Greg, Barbie, Connie and Tom. Thank you huge!!Our community garden has tripled in size! All boards and labour was donated by the same peeps above.
A huge thank you to Sheila, Greg, Connie, Tom & Barbie for building our VGB Bike Rack, as well as expanding the community garden boxes, AND ongoing beautification of the grounds of the Village Green Bakery.
Introducing Pre-Orders!
I have clicked the button and turned on online ordering at VGB.
Scan with your phone to go into online ordering
Was it smooth sailing? Heck no! The program I am using is by the POS provider Clover, and out of the box has limited flexibility to customize. For now we will continue to use it - but with some guidance and a few bumps to come. We know this is the right thing for our community - so let’s just dive in and see what happens.
You can order now - and let us know if you are looking for a Saturday or Sunday pick up. Once we go 7 days a week you can continue to pre-order for next day.
That’s a Wrap on this Newsletter
I started writing this newsletter over a month ago. As you can imagine a lot has ‘happened’ in the last month that has my mind spinning and my body running all over Manitoba. Over the next couple of months the newsletters will probably take a back seat while I focus on ‘baking more’ and posting more updates on social media.
The feedback I have gotten on Social Media about enjoying being an insider on this journey of building and now operating a bakery is amazing. So many words of encouragement, support and engagement. I will continue to post organic content as we cruise along during our second season at VGB.
This year I am excited to get to focus so much more ‘on the business’ vs. being ‘in the business’. This means more events at the bakery, more face time with you the community, and more time with my family.
Looking forward to creating more memories with you -
Jen