Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Hicks.
Hi Brittany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
To understand my journey of becoming the owner of The Mitten Cafe & Bakeshop in my small town of Newport, you have to start with my unique family. I was blessed to be born in a large family forged in faith. My parents, Tom and Barb Boggs, were open to having kids-lots of them. I am actually the oldest daughter of their eleven children.
Growing up here in Newport my whole life there was never a lot to do, especially when it came to dining options. All we really had were gas stations, mini-marts and bars that sold food. Therefore, my mother specialized in home-cooked meals that could feed an army (or a large Catholic family) and baked goods that had you coming back for more.
As the oldest daughter, I naturally became her understudy in the kitchen, learning as much as I could. Baking, however, quickly became my passion from an early age. I can remember vividly the first Christmas I received an easy bake oven. My older brothers wouldn’t let me stop making bite-sized goodies. As I got older, my mom allowed me to move to the actual oven, and I began with the basics: brownies, cookies, and simple cakes. My skills became stronger. Back in the late 90s my mom would subscribe to the famous “Taste of Home Magazine.”
I could not wait when it came in the mail to see what recipe I wanted to try next and how I could make it even better.I loved the idea of how I could transform, create simple ingredients into something delicious and visual edible art. And I realized quickly that sharing my baked goods brought joy and happiness to others. I could make any occasion or ordinary day more special by creating something as simple as a homemade treat, that I could make with my own hands.
I had an entrepreneurial heart quite young. At 10 years old I started “Brittany’s Bakeshop,” selling baked goods-many of which were my mom’s family recipes-to local businesses during the Christmas season on my break from school. I quickly saw the fruits of my labor and how this could be a way to earn some really good money as a kid. It also fostered within me a deeper personal drive and the perseverance to get me through challenging times, which I had no idea I would desperately need later in life. I was happy to have school friends and sisters who helped carry out my heavy work load at times.
As “Brittany’s Bakeshop” continued to expand in my tween years, my parents supported me with their wisdom and taught me the simple footwork of how to create a business plan. My mom would take me to Aldi where we would calculate how much we would need per ingredient and pick up all our inventory. She also helped me organize my orders, figure out how we would package all the items perfectly, and get the orders out to the customer by required deadline. My dad-being an executive at La-Z-Boy nearby in Monroe-helped me on the promotional business end. Together we created my business flyer with all the items, pricing, and who I would sell my product to. We found people we knew in local large businesses that would pass my flyer out during the Christmas season. Each Christmas until I was about 14, I would sell dozens and dozens of cookies out of my parents’ home.
For my 16th birthday my parents gifted me a cake decorating class, which ended up being a huge step up in my culinary journey. The class taught me different forms of piping, making buttercream roses, and how to frost cakes. This further inspired me to experiment and try to produce the most delicious vanilla and chocolate cake recipes, with various fillings. Once I nailed down my recipes and practiced more on my decorating techniques on various family birthdays. I started to sell custom decorated cakes throughout the year to friends, family, and clientele I already built from my holiday baking business. I often found myself dreaming of opening my own bakery one day and what items I would want to sell.
At 17 I applied and received a job at the best bakery in Monroe that specialized in custom cakes, wedding cakes, and various baked goods. This gave me the hands-on experience and skill sets that I would need later. It also taught me how much work went into operating a bakery, as I witnessed firsthand how employees and even its owners put in many hours beyond the normal working day to remain successful.
Upon graduating from high school and while still working at the bakery, I entered culinary school at our local community college. During that time, God placed a key person more firmly in my life that would help me through my toughest times in and outside the bakery. Her name was Bridget and she was in the same Culinary class as me. She had been actually dating one of my older brothers for the past two years. Bridget was actively going through some serious personal battles of her own, just finishing up treatments for leukemia. Despite the challenges that naturally come with culinary school, together we persevered and received our chef’s hats and degrees.
After college I continued working at the bakery for another 6 years, while simultaneously baking out of my home. It was not out of the norm for us to decorate 100 high-end custom cakes and cookie orders on a weekly basis. I took pride in my work and I loved the independence I had to create and design each custom order. I often worked early mornings and long days. Upon seeing the customers’ joyous reaction, it made all the hard work worth it!
I eventually ended my long-time job at the bakery when I became a wife and mom in the mid-2010s. Nonetheless, I continued to work from home making and designing custom cakes, wedding cakes, and cookies. As time went on, I built up my clientele and credibility due to the attention to detail I put into everything I baked. I received many compliments, for not only beautiful looking cakes, but also equally delicious. All my personal hard work perfecting and tweaking recipes was finally paying off.
I started to obtain so many inquiries, that I hired Bridget, who was not just a close friend but also now my sister in-law. With her timely help and advice, I expanded into my parent’s pole barn that was more equipped with space and had a kitchen-for me to take on more orders. Simultaneously, I was going through a heartbreaking divorce that compelled me to rely more on God than ever before. And God responded, not just with His grace but also pointing me back to one of the greatest gifts he’s ever given me: a large and loving family.
As we continued to expand our clientele and reputation for baking, it seemed clear that I needed to take the next step: owning and operating an actual bakery. It was something I had always dreamed about, but thought it was an impossibility. But God and large families make the impossible possible. With prayers and overwhelming support-including financial support of some of my older siblings-we started the search and eventually decided that an old bank in my hometown would be a great fit. It happened to be situated in front of my grandpa’s mill that has been in our mom’s family for decades.
Despite the fact it was vacant for twenty years and cobwebs filled the space, the huge bank vault was actually the perfect space for a walk-in cooler. However, with extensive renovation still needed, the sticker price was a bit more than we hoped for. Oddly enough, the bank’s realtor agreed with us and insisted we make a much lower offer. It was ultimately accepted! The day we closed on the building, I called the bank’s realtor to thank him, only to find out he had passed away. My heart sank. I thanked God for placing him in our lives and sat in complete shock as I tried to process everything that just happened.
In the back of my mind, I have to admit, was the thought that we were taking a huge gamble. We knew our location in smalltown rural Monroe County was not necessarily ideal. Even though the highway is only a half mile away, there was little nearby that would compel motorists to actually exit the highway. We knew we had to rely upon our own community of Newport to support us and also hope that our creative comfort foods and homebaked goods would attract people from beyond our hometown.
After buying the bank in our hometown of Newport, Mi, my entire family, a cohort of close community members, and a whole crew of dedicated contractors quickly got to work and converted it into the cafe & bakery you see today. My immediate family even assisted me in running a two day “bake sale” before opening day. We raised over $5000, but learned quickly we could not buy everything new. This start-up money ultimately helped us purchase some needed used commercial equipment at auctions. In the weeks prior to that bake sale, we also decided on naming our place The Mitten Cafe & Bakeshop due to the shape of our home state and the fact that one of my most used tools of our work is a baking mitt.
When Covid hit, it was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to navigate through. On top of already being a brand-new business owner, there were supply shortages, constant change in recommended regulations, inflation, staff shortages, and so on. Yet again, my army of a family was there to help! They filled in where needed, showing just how important a solid support system is to a small business.
There was so much confusion during those first few years, and the odds were not in our favor. At times it seemed like we were fighting a losing battle. All I knew was that I had to put my faith in God and trust His plan! It was normal for me to work 14-18 hours days and survive on a few hours of sleep. I clung on to my faith like I have never done before. Thankfully, that “old bank” we bought was equipped with a drive- thru. This feature is what helped keep us afloat during those challenging times. I can say that the pandemic experience only made me stronger, and I remind myself when times get tough, that I can get through it!
As 2022 was ending, we started to see that we were doing well, despite the circumstances, and our business plan was beginning to work. We started hiring more staff, we were able to get into a routine which helped us to create our most popular regular everyday baked goods and our fun seasonal food and drink menus. Some of our customer’s favorite offerings include Breakfast Sausage Burritos, Chicken Salad Croissant, Filled Cupcakes, Cake Slices, our Iced Caramel Macchiato and many other items that come and go based on the season.
90% of all items are home-made in-house. We try our best to source local when we can, to support local Michigan farmers and businesses to have the freshest, most flavorful ingredients in all our items. Our goal is to continue the same concept from when I was a little girl. We pride ourselves in always improving our recipes, scale up our products, and to serve quality food and friendly service to our paying customers.The Mitten Cafe & Bakeshop includes not just a space for intimate dining but-as mentioned earlier-also the convenience of a drive thru for those on the go.
I am blessed with an AMAZING STAFF; they work so hard each day to make and serve all our delicious food and drinks. Lots of my current staff are my family and extended family who are helping me in the day-to-day operations. My sister-in-law /business partner Amy Jo ,has dedicated countless hours to The Mitten. She handles payroll and the business end, which lifts a big weight off my shoulders. My older brother / business partner Andrew is my Mr. Fix it. He is the jack of all trades and has helped kept us running when something would break. Work is always a “family affair” at The Mitten. And still to this day, I find myself seeking business advice from my parents to help me make the diverse, challenging decisions that a business owner deals with daily.
Another incredible blessing in my life is that I recently got married again in the summer of 2024 to my husband Laine. He sincerely enjoys seeing me do what I love and more importantly he loves my son Reggie as much as I do. He has also been my shoulder to lean on during highs and lows of owning a business, and there have certainly been many!
Despite the continuing wave of hardships that come with this line of work, I am confident that I am exactly where God has intended me to be at this exact moment in time. It gives me a great sense of fulfillment to be able to see all my hard work from when I was a little girl become a reality, to do what I love, in service to my hometown. One of our favorite mottos at The Mitten, which also appears on a shirt we sell, is by Mother Teresa: “To do small things with great love.” I truly believe in these words, simple, kind gestures can have a big impact, even brightening someone’s difficult day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Please see article above
1)Converting a bank layout into the cafe you see today.
2) Turning the vault into our walk- in cooler. This was a two day process to just take the door off the vault and to cut a whole through it, to make another door way using hydraulic carts to lift the heavy loads.
3) Covid was hard to navigate through. So many shortages! We did not know if we would make it, being a brand new business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Personally , what got me into the hospitality industry is my baking. To be able to make great tasting /looking cakes and cookies. To also be able to custom design them.
The Mitten Cafe & Bakeshop specializes in homemade desserts, espresso based drinks, and comforting-quick to eat foods. We also serve a rotational /seasonal menu .
I believe what sets us apart is that we have a triage , of all three ( coffee, food, homemade baked goods) in one spot, which includes the convenience of a drive -through and or the choice to sit in with a friend.
I am most proud of how we have grown , became more efficient, and scaled up our offerings.
To see happy customers and it all come together makes it gratifying.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Reading recipes in cook books and magazines after school/ or favorite cooking shows .To see what unique ingredients would be in them and what recipe i would test out next. Being in my parent’s kitchen making and trying out the new recipes brings back nostalgic memories , especially around the holidays. I loved designing custom cakes for customers , perfecting my skill and bringing my baked goods to family parties. Hearing the compliments always brought a sense of fulfillment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Themittencafe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themittencafe/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themittencafe/
- Other: Email: orders@themittencafe.com
