Gabby Bakes Expansion Fund
Donation protected
Hi. (づ ◕‿◕ )づ It me. Gabby from Gabby Bakes™ — a fully vegan Tampa-based bakery, with joyful indulgence and a commitment to ethical food practice at the heart. I started this business about 4 years ago, entirely self-funded and self-taught, fueled by the love of sharing food with friends and their extraordinary reciprocal support that grew over time into being a community’s worth of faith and encouragement in this journey of mine. And now I’m asking for help in growing this baby bakery into it’s own brick and mortar in Seminole Heights!
It’s wild reflecting back on those early days when I was working 2 other jobs to make ends meet and help finance what was then just a hobby, with the official start of this biz being the beginning of 2020 — an awfully weird time to go on this adventure. But I began selling cupcakes at Pure Kitchen in South Tampa and baking custom cakes out of my house. About a year and a half ago I grew out of my home kitchen and secured a permit to move my lil operation into a shared incubator kitchen in Brandon, FL. This was a big game changer for me and allowed me to scale my recipes and expand into more wholesalers and work with commercial grade equipment for the first time so I could bake so so many treats for y’all for Indie Flea and various other markets/popups this past year.
Last fall I realized I was eventually gonna hit another wall with production limitations and started looking for a space of my own. Nearly a year later and I feel like I’ve found the perfect spot for this transition, in a neighborhood that’s centrally located and where I’ve called home since moving to Tampa 6 years ago.
Having my own space will allow me to make my bakes more accessible, to hire staff, to completely eliminate cross contamination concerns for my allergy-having girlies/bbs, and just create a more ergonomic and fulfilling production space for further growth. Although it is a brick and mortar, I don’t intend to follow the path of a traditional storefront in that I’m planning to operate by appointment only (for cake pickups, etc.) most days vs. stocking a bakery case and being open every day. HOWEVER, once I’m settled I absolutely plan on being open weekends for weekly or bi-weekly popup type events, where you can come in and get all the goods you’re used to getting at my popups. ^_^
Having this goal in mind the past 9 months or so, I’ve saved up every penny from last season’s earnings in preparation for this step forward. But building out a bakery is an expensive endeavor and as someone that doesn’t have access to startup capital or generational wealth, I’m hoping I can pool my savings together along with community support to see this $40k+ cost through. Your money will go towards helping cover equipment costs ($20k+ on it’s own), necessary building renovations (flooring, plumbing, electrical work), retail licensing, hiring and training additional help, and bridging the gap of increased overhead expenses. Any and all support, whether big or smol, would mean so much.
I’m so excited to be at this point and can’t wait to take you all along with me. Thanks everyone that’s bought a cake, cookie, said a kind word, given advice/motivation, offered me their space to popup at, absolutely everything. <3 I simply would not be here and in this position without it. ₊˚⊹♡
Love, Gabby 
It’s wild reflecting back on those early days when I was working 2 other jobs to make ends meet and help finance what was then just a hobby, with the official start of this biz being the beginning of 2020 — an awfully weird time to go on this adventure. But I began selling cupcakes at Pure Kitchen in South Tampa and baking custom cakes out of my house. About a year and a half ago I grew out of my home kitchen and secured a permit to move my lil operation into a shared incubator kitchen in Brandon, FL. This was a big game changer for me and allowed me to scale my recipes and expand into more wholesalers and work with commercial grade equipment for the first time so I could bake so so many treats for y’all for Indie Flea and various other markets/popups this past year.
Last fall I realized I was eventually gonna hit another wall with production limitations and started looking for a space of my own. Nearly a year later and I feel like I’ve found the perfect spot for this transition, in a neighborhood that’s centrally located and where I’ve called home since moving to Tampa 6 years ago.
Having my own space will allow me to make my bakes more accessible, to hire staff, to completely eliminate cross contamination concerns for my allergy-having girlies/bbs, and just create a more ergonomic and fulfilling production space for further growth. Although it is a brick and mortar, I don’t intend to follow the path of a traditional storefront in that I’m planning to operate by appointment only (for cake pickups, etc.) most days vs. stocking a bakery case and being open every day. HOWEVER, once I’m settled I absolutely plan on being open weekends for weekly or bi-weekly popup type events, where you can come in and get all the goods you’re used to getting at my popups. ^_^
Having this goal in mind the past 9 months or so, I’ve saved up every penny from last season’s earnings in preparation for this step forward. But building out a bakery is an expensive endeavor and as someone that doesn’t have access to startup capital or generational wealth, I’m hoping I can pool my savings together along with community support to see this $40k+ cost through. Your money will go towards helping cover equipment costs ($20k+ on it’s own), necessary building renovations (flooring, plumbing, electrical work), retail licensing, hiring and training additional help, and bridging the gap of increased overhead expenses. Any and all support, whether big or smol, would mean so much.
I’m so excited to be at this point and can’t wait to take you all along with me. Thanks everyone that’s bought a cake, cookie, said a kind word, given advice/motivation, offered me their space to popup at, absolutely everything. <3 I simply would not be here and in this position without it. ₊˚⊹♡
Love, Gabby 
Organiser
Gabriella Duncan
Organiser
Tampa, FL
