Hidden Gems: Meet Ben Brown of B-Cubed Bakery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Brown

Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started to think about turning my personal love of baking into a professional one after I burned out at a tech job. I’d been working remotely (before COVID made it a regular thing) for three years and I just needed to do something different. I decided that I’d take a sabbatical.

I spent a year in Traverse City attending the Great Lakes Culinary Institute where they’d just introduced a one year baking program. In my time in school I worked at a local wood fired bakery. After graduating I moved back down to Ann Arbor and spent another year at the Zingerman’s Bakehouse. By the end of that year I felt refreshed enough to go back into tech.

While working in tech I started doing farmers markets baking under Michigan’s Cottage Food Laws. In the third season of market I began working on building out a retail location. And that takes us to today, hopefully we’ll be opening the retail storefront in Ypsilanti’s Gault Village neighborhood early this fall.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Transitioning between careers certainly hasn’t been the easiest thing. Making it as a small business owner and finding the information you actually need to get up and running, not just what’s in the dime a dozen books in stores, is a challenge. The SBDC has been a great resource for that. My heart goes out to all the small business owners who are also taking the plunge, particular those in food businesses.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re a small bakery located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We specialize in artisan sourdough bread and pastry. As a small business, other than producing great baked goods, we’re working to help rebuild the local food ecosystem. We’re connecting with farmers and other food suppliers to use those ingredients in the food that feeds our community.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My coworkers at my tech jobs in the past have played a huge role in supporting my endeavors. They’ve always been supportive and encouraging of the idea of doing something different, even when that’s such a huge departure from our usual work.

My family has also been very encouraging. Stepping away from a stable corporate job and starting a small business is a big risk, and one they always supported my decision to make.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bcubedbakery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bcubedbakery/