Meet Meg Antonczyk: Baker & Pastry Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meg Antonczyk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meg, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
We all have down days where we want to give up, where you ask yourself what you are doing and if it’s even worth it. For me, I feel I’ve come too far to give up. Call it determination, but I really think I’m just too stubborn to give up or move on from my business before I exhaust all possible options. I want to hit “rock bottom” so to speak before I give up. Covid really forced all of us to pivot our original business plans, to downsize, to try things we never would. I had to say no to my dream location with the uncertainties around covid. As much as I want to give up sometimes, I just know that I have a good product that people like and that makes people happy. I created a brand that people connect with. That’s what keeps me going. 

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Breadery is a wholesale bakery specializing in sourdough breads and specialty wedding/birthday cakes. We essentially grew from nothing with the support of our small community. I started baking bread when I was the pastry chef for a local restaurant and the demand just grew exponentially. I took a leap and branched off on my own and started baking bread and cakes through commissary kitchens around town and developed my own brand as the Breadery. I am based out of a small tourist town, with rental prices being pretty high, so my only options have been to share kitchen space. There isn’t too much money in wholesale bread and pastry so it definitely has been a financial struggle. Hours are long and you really need to love baking to get through these initial phases. I take pride that I haven’t started doing shortcuts at the expense of my product. All of our boules are still mixed by hand and take two full days from start to finish. I just hope my bread brings nostalgic joy to my customers and I get to carb-load as many people I can! I keep holding on to the hope I’ll have my very own location soon with an expanded menu. I also had to get creative and started doing sourdough flatbreads once a week out of our backdoor kitchen. It’s so humbling and amazing to see that we have gotten such an underground cult following.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In the winter you definitely cannot leave without going skiing or snowboarding in Crested Butte. There are also plenty of other options too such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. You really do not even need a car around here so you can walk to a lot of the trails or the bus takes you right to the resort base area. In the afternoon or early evening you can stroll down our historic main street and peek into specialty shops and restaurants. Butte Bagels is a great spot to grab a quick breakfast –they make their bagels from scratch every morning and it’s definitely a local’s favorite. Montanya’s is a woman-run and owned rum distillery and their tasting room has the most creative and amazing cocktails. Even if you are not a fan of rum, this place will convert you. The Sunflower is the perfect place to finish your night with an amazing meal and good company. This farm-sourced eatery has an ever evolving menu and highlights Colorado seasonality. After dinner you can’t miss walking around downtown viewing all the lights and hitting up the local’s favorite watering hole, The Talk of the Town. All the locals in Crested Butte are so welcoming and you are bound to strike up a conversation with even our most quirky town characters. There is something special about Crested Butte, and that’s why I love calling this place home.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My brother and sister in law have always believed in me. They guided me through the initial phases of my bakery and helped me create my brand and become the baker and business owner I am today. They know my true potential and always have a way of telling me that I deserve success.

Website: www.breaderycb.com
Instagram: @breadery.cb
Facebook: @breadery.cb

Image Credits
Mountain Magic Media (profile pic with purple cake)