Help Chef Margaret Save Your Community Bakery

Chef Chick's Bakery needs a hand! Help preserve your local bakery at the heart of your community.

Hi, I’m Margaret "Gosia" Szewczyk (Chef Chick). Being part of the community and creating the team that is Chef Chick's is thoroughly fulfilling and FUN! It has forever positively affected my life. And that is why I am reaching out to you today. The bakery is continuing to grow at a good pace, with 45% returning business on average. To continue this path, however, I need capital for additional equipment and staff. I started the business using my own savings and backed by loans. Paying off the current high interest loans quickly will reduce the interest expense greatly and will free up funds that can be directed towards the bakery's expansion and improvements. I have also factored in future expenses for the maintenance and replacement of the bakery's fixed assets (ovens, refrigerators, etc.). I am currently applying for small business loans and I apply for all available grants applicable to the bakery. I love what I do, and I have a clientele that loves that I do it. If you can, please help this love continue. Thank you!

See more of my story below, and please check out the link below to see details for funding uses, contributor levels, and our website. If you have any questions, or would like more information, please let me know.

https://www.ccbakerync.com

My family came here from Poland in the early 80’s. Dad got a job at Duke University and 6 months later Mom came across the Atlantic on a cargo boat with my brother, Tom and me. True story. If you stop by the bakery, I'll tell you about it. They left behind their entire families, friends, and life to make a better one for our family and to pursue the opportunities provided in the States. For centuries, that's what this country continues to represent to people around the world. So many of us can relate to this story - coming to America from another country in hopes of pursuing our dreams! I am eternally thankful to my parents for all they’ve done to provide for Tom and me while we were growing up and especially for supporting my dream and being with me every step of the way!

After working over 20 years in the corporate world of finance and accounting and living "the" American Dream, I fulfilled "my" American Dream and opened Chef Chick's Bakery in September of ’22! Realizing that dream has been more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. My vision was to create a space and environment to invoke nostalgia, of growing up... a reminder of a home no longer home. Like so many others who don't have a lot of close family in this country, food is one of the best reminders/connections we have to them and those memories. I wanted to create that environment by baking traditional European breads and treats in an open kitchen environment, focusing primarily on the Polish ones taught to me by my Babcia, my grandmother. It turns out my dream was a niche waiting to be filled! I didn’t imagine how many of our patrons would be looking for the same thing! So many have become family to me! In the almost two years we’ve been open, I’ve been lucky enough to become part of their lives as I’ve gotten to know their family, their friends, even their kids! Many of them have gotten to know my parents as well as Mom and Dad are often there to give a hand or just mingle with our patrons. We’ve been honored to bake pastries from their home countries, many of them part of their most cherished traditions, and to hear them say “This reminds me of my grandmother” or “This reminds me of my childhood”. I have been given an incredible GIFT!

Years of planning, research, preparations, saving, and sacrifice were challenging but they made me strong enough to face the tasks and challenges that come with operating and maintaining a successful business. I have never been happier in my life than since I decided to make my dream happen! I’ve had a few moments of “did I really do this?” Do I have days where I feel stressed and challenged? You bet I do! I own a small business! But those thoughts are always immediately followed by “I CANNOT believe I am so lucky to be living my dream every single day!"

Chef Chick's hosts and attends regular events and I'm always on the lookout for new ways to interact with the community. I'm focused on increasing the catering side of the business and have kicked off wholesale partnerships. I believe in the potential of Chef Chick's Bakery to continue down this path to success. I pride myself on operating with transparency. My team prides itself on making our products in-house with the best ingredients, no additives, and no preservatives. "Baking It to the Next Level" is not just Chef Chick's motto; it's our mission statement! As a team, we work hard to accommodate special requests when possible as well as last-minute orders. I am forever grateful to all our patrons, supporters, families, and friends and promise to never compromise the love and quality you expect in our products!