This is the first morning in over a month that I’ve felt like writing. The urge was strong enough to pull me out of the kitchen, grab my computer, and find a table outside to jot down my thoughts. It’s our fourth Sunday morning at Saison, the bakery I opened in July, and there’s a steady stream of now-familiar faces—something I couldn’t have imagined just a few weeks ago. The counter is full of bakes fresh from the oven, and the room hums with the rhythm of a schedule that finally feels a bit more settled. For a moment, I breathed easy.
I opened my first bakery on July 11. It sits on a sunny corner in Bed-Stuy, with big windows and café seats along the sidewalk, and flowers peeking out from every corner. When you walk in, you’re greeted by warm, buttery bakes, ripe stone fruits cooking down into jam, our orange blossom candle burning softly, and vintage treasures I’ve collected over the years displayed on our antique hutch. It’s welcoming, sweet, a little whimsical—and after six years of baking from my apartment, it feels like the most beautiful fever dream.
The bakery has been years in the making: dreaming, planning, and most importantly, baking. Saison began during COVID as a way to keep my anxious hands busy and to offer comfort to friends, family, and strangers in the only way I knew how—a homemade treat. I had no business plan or goal, but it felt right. I became obsessed instantly, always thinking about what to bake next, waking up excited to get into the kitchen, and I still do. So I kept at it, and slowly and naturally, Saison grew.
As a self-taught baker, I’ve learned almost everything as I went. There’s freedom in having no formal training—I don’t always know how things are “supposed” to be done, so I tend to follow my gut. But for a long time, this came with a good dose of imposter syndrome. I’d occasionally hear condescending questions from people who had opened food businesses before: Do you really know what you’re getting into? The honest answer was always: Probably not. I don’t think anyone fully knows what they’re getting into when they take a leap like this, but at some point, you just have to trust yourself and go for it.
I’ve also been incredibly lucky to have people who truly believe in Saison—people who have encouraged me, challenged me, and helped turn something in my head into something real. Two of the most important are my dear friends and collaborators, Beatrice Tait-Loft and Nathan Német of Studio N&TL. We started dreaming up the interior long before I had a location in mind, let alone a signed lease. When the day finally came last December, they were my first call. This was their first commercial project and my first bakery, so in many ways, it was meant to be. We learned everything together: health codes, permits, inspections, ADA requirements, you name it.
The interior is warm and romantic, a little world of its own. It was important to me that the bakery feel like an extension of my home and reflect what inspires me most, especially the natural world. A place where you could linger, notice something new, and feel transported for a moment. Every morning, the counter fills with a selection of rustic, seasonally driven American-style bakes. There’s my favorite cinnamon sugar muffin, inspired by one of my favorite muffins as a child, buttery scones served with homemade jam, a rich flourless chocolate cake, stone fruit frangipane cake, and our signature olive oil cake topped with mascarpone cream. These are the things I’ve been baking for years—for friends and family, at dinner parties and birthdays, weddings and everything in between. The menu always evolves with the seasons, and we’re constantly dreaming up new things to bake while perfecting tThe classics. Photo: Kate S. Jordan
Every day around five o’clock, golden hour finds us. Light pours through the windows and settles into every corner, bathing the bakery in the most ethereal glow. After an unimaginably long day, this moment feels sacred. I’ll often stop what I’m doing—likely a very unglamorous but important task like mopping the floors—to soak it all in. Not a moment is lost on me that Bea and Nathan thought about this very moment when designing the space. The way the light moves through the bakery, the little pockets it finds, the details it illuminates—it all feels so intentional, yet completely effortless. It’s these small, magical moments, woven into the bakery through their design, that make the space feel so special and are a testament to my very talented friends. Photo: Kate S. Jordan Photo: Kate S. Jordan
One of the greatest joys of opening Saison has been our team. We are seven women in the kitchen, all with different stories, experiences, career paths, and ages, yet somehow, when we’re together, it feels as though we’ve been doing this for much longer. There is something incredibly special about watching seven people who didn’t know each other at the beginning of the summer find their rhythm together—learning how we communicate, discovering each other’s strengths, and showing up for one another. Photo: Kate S. Jordan
Bakers tend to share a particular kind of perfectionism, and I’ve watched how easily the instinct to take a baking fail personally can creep into our days. We’re trying to unlearn that—to be each other’s cheerleaders, to laugh when something goes wrong, and to remind one another to be gentler with ourselves. When someone is out sick or has a day off, the first thing mentioned in the morning is how it feels off without them. At the end of a shift, we joke that some days it feels like summer camp.
Since opening, my life has been turned upside down, and many days I barely recognize myself or my routine. But I have never felt more alive. Excitement courses through my body when I wake up, itching to get to the bakery and see what the day has in store. And while I have a tendency to romanticize everything in writing, yes, I often arrive to a slew of problems, and I’ve never worked so hard in my life. Photo: Kate S. Jordan
86 butter? The scones didn’t bake right? The Wi-Fi’s out? No iced coffee lids? Leaking sink? A million tiny things come up every day, derailing any and all plans I may have had. And you know what? It’s okay.
If I’ve learned anything since opening the bakery, it’s that the best way to prepare for the day is to prepare for the unexpected. Be ready to welcome the chaos and, perhaps most importantly, don’t fight it.
At the end of every single day, it all gets sorted. Maybe not in the way I imagined, but somehow—almost always—much better than I ever could have imagined.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs The Beautiful Chaos of Opening a Brooklyn Bakery
1 Why Brooklyn for a bakery
Brooklyn has a strong food culture loyal neighborhood regulars and lots of foot traffic Its competitive but a good bakery can build a dedicated following fast
2 How much does it cost to open a bakery in Brooklyn
Plan for 50000 to 250000 depending on size and buildout Rent equipment and permits are the biggest costs A small storefront with used equipment can land on the lower end
3 What licenses and permits do I need
At minimum a food service establishment permit from the NYC Health Department a Food Protection Certificate for the owner and a sales tax ID You may also need a place of assembly or sidewalk cafe permit
4 Do I need a commercial kitchen
Yes You cant bake for sale from a home kitchen in New York You need a licensed commercial space or you can rent time in a shared commercial kitchen to start
5 Whats the hardest part of opening
The buildout Permits inspections plumbing and gas line work take months and rarely go as planned Expect delays and budget overruns
6 What equipment do I actually need to start
A commercial oven mixer refrigerator work tables and a threecompartment sink at minimum Buy used where you can mixers and fridges hold up well secondhand
7 How do I choose what to sell
Start small Pick 610 items you do really well a signature pastry a couple of breads coffee You can expand once you know what sells
8 How important is coffee
Very Coffee has high margins and brings people in daily Many Brooklyn bakeries make more on drinks than on baked goods
9 How do I find a good location
Look for foot traffic nearby offices or schools and limited direct competition Corner spots and streets near subway stops perform well Negotiate the lease Brooklyn rents are high
10 What common mistakes should I avoid
Overbuilding before you have customers underpricing skipping a soft opening and trying to do everything yourself Also dont sign a lease before checking zoning and ventilation
11 How do I price my products
Add up ingredients labor