Although a popular local bakery was uncertain about its future heading into the new year, the owners of Coco’s Cookies say they plan to “push through” and keep serving their baked goods to the community.
In a social media post in December, the bakery — located at the plaza at the intersection of Fittons Road and West Street — lamented the rising costs of food and living, shrinking profit margins, and subsequently lower foot traffic to the business, with owners writing they were “unsure of the future of our little bakery” heading into January.
Dozens of people responded to the post, with many encouraging them to stay open.
Now that the new year is here, the plan is to keep the bakery running as usual.
“Ultimately, we are locked into a lease, and we just have so much invested in the business, and for us to just walk away from it right now would be a little bit too much of a loss for us as well as a big part of our business,” said Tyson Renshaw, who co-owns the business with his partner, Nicole Hepinstall.
Beyond providing income, the business also provides an opportunity for Hepinstall to chase her passion, and for the entire family — baby included — to spend the full day together.
“I love to bake for people, and just the fact that I get to do that for a living, and I have for the past four years is amazing, but having my family there with me makes it even more special,” Hepinstall said. “It's definitely everything to me, like having my baby there with me every day too, and just being able to spend the time together all day.”
The couple said they’re aware of other local businesses facing similarly tough times, and said the community has stepped up to support their bakery over the past month.
Renshaw joked that “everybody bought $400,000 for $800,000” in recent years, highlighting how expensive mortgages and general inflation have translated to less foot traffic.
“The inflation that we've seen over the past couple years, if we were to match that in our prices and increase our prices we charge to the customers, nobody would show up,” he said.
As a result, the couple hopes to encourage residents to shop more at local businesses — while acknowledging that big box stores and online shopping are sometimes unavoidable — to help keep local businesses like Coco’s Cookies afloat.
“We have lots of friends in small business, and there's multiple businesses that are considering what they're going to do this month,” Renshaw said. “Last year was a rough year for business, but I just hope the community can come in and people can start supporting small businesses like we did during COVID.”
“We do have such a good community behind us, like everyone is so kind and caring,” Hepinstall said.
