Today we’d like to introduce you to Tannar And Skylar Hess.
Hi Tannar and Skylar , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Our Dream started when we found ourselves in a friendly baking compation with a family friend Mark. It started out as a friendly “who can do it better”, then unfortunately before we could compet he passed away unexpectedly, and his wife asked us to enter his recipes for him in his honor. So we took to work and made the best German chocolate cake we could. This entry went to get best in show and was auctioned off for over $200.00. Sky has always baked with our grandma who we would say really set a spark in the creative world of baking, but the playful compation between Our dear Freind Mark and us pushed her to be more creative and competitive as she learned to make new baked good and recipes. Friends and family quickly realized her ability to decorate and create baked goods, they started ordering from birthday cakes and cupcakes to wedding cakes and bachelorette cakes. Tannar Has never been much on the physical baking but he has been skylars biggest fan and supporter. He is there doing all the side work prepping all the extra and constantly reminding her that she is the best baker he has ever known and that she is capable of incredible things. Tannar pushes skylar to new hights and she is always willing to follow where he leads because she knows that he will always have her back and make sure everything is going to work out. Though this support we Launched “Blu Sky’s Bakery” on Facebook in 2014 A home based bakery that Specialized in hand decorated specialty cakes for all occasions. We both worked for Sonic while we were in our late teens. while we were there Tannar pushed skylar to attend the Cullinary art institute of Cincinatti for baking and pastry where she grew her skills and knowledge base. All of our adult life we have been working twards owning our own bakery. We went through numerouse potential bulding purchases and leases but non of them felt quite right. in 2023 we purchases a concession trailer. we wanted to get into the stand alone business game that had a little more overhead than baking cakes at home. at this point we officially became an LLC with the name Blu Sky’s Enterprise LLC. We wanted the name to be inclusive so when the day came for us to open our bakery we could use the same LLC. this is also when we changed our Facebook to Blu Skys Enterprise. We still use this name on Facebook because for whatever reason we cannot change it to Blu Sky’s Cafe. We were an all american style food vendor that offered breakfast and lunch options. Most of our events were at the preble countyt fair for the local 4-H events. we kept our menu simple and our prices low because we wanted to be there to support the 4-h kids. We loved doing this but it was not our bakery. In 2017 Tannar visited the building we own now and decided one day this building would be ours. He found out who the owners were, reached out but it was not for sale. He told them if they every wanted to sell to let us know and every 6 months or so he would reach out to see if they were interested. Over the next 8 years we continued searching but nothing fit us just right. on March 7th 2024 Tannar got a text from one of the owners “hey tannar, guess what?” to which he replied “you are ready to sell us our building?” the response, “yes, when can we talk.” we have been saving and planning for this moment for YEARS, but it just did not feel real. We close down the building June 6th Tannar Had to leave for annual training on June 8th (he is a Cpl. in the Marine corps Reserves) He returned on July 3rd and the remodle was underway. We completley remodled the entire kitchen and dinning area in roughly 30 days, while both of us continued our full-time jobs at Lowes and were able to have our soft opening on august 6th. The beginning was tough, for the first 4 weeks it was just the two of us and some occasional help from our wonderful mother. There were 20-hour days with very little sleep. Every waking moment was worth it. We now have 4 Great employees, work and worry more than we should but would not have it any other way.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Finically we did not suffer as far as our down payment on the building and the purchasing of Equipment because we have been saving for 15yrs to make this dream become a reality. When it came to knowing what we needed to Open the Doors to the public we struggled with getting the information and the where to go to get everything such as inspections, certificates, and permits. this led to us not being able to bake in our shop for the first 2 weeks of opening, so we had to operate as a cottage kitchen baking pastries at home and bringing them to the shop and selling them in packaged containers. There was a defendant learning curve but through the assistants from other locale businesses we were able to file and purchase everything we needed to open our doors. The support from the locate small business has been an such an asset. the day-to-day operations are constantly changing and getting better for our flow in the business. When you start your own business, you create your own SOP and until you are in operation you really don’t know what’s going to work and what’s not. Our ability to constantly adapt and change in the moment has helped contribute to our success. the biggest challenge for us was the limited number of hours in the day with us making so much from scratch. we were open from 6am to 6pm and we started our days at 4am and ended them at 12am. giving us a humbling 4hrs of sleep for our first 2 weeks wild we got a good rhythm going.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a small but quickly growing brother, sister owned and operated bakery and Cafe. We are open until 6pm most days for our customers to get breakfast, lunch and even an early dinner. We specialize in pastries and coffee but offer a full-service breakfast and Lunch menu. Our biggest hits in the community are our homemade cinnamon rolls and our Turkey pesto melt. We make our pastries from scratch using high quality ingredients and we focus hugely on fresh delicious product. We make our own sides and sauces, from homemade buttermilk ranch to our rich and creamy potato salad, we know what is going into our product and can speak to every ingredient, our customers love that. We have fostered an environment when anyone can come into our cafe and feel like a part of our family. We love our customers and our local community. we are involved with local events and sponsorships to help better our community and help it grow. We offer catering and also rent out or space for special events and gatherings. Our amazing food, drinks, and pastries brought the customers in but our dedication to excellent customer service and value keep them coming back. most of our customers feel like family, just the way we want it.
How do you think about luck?
The only thing i can say is ‘luck’ would be the great understanding bond Tannar and skylar have. We do not chalk any of what we have encountered as luck because it has been hard work and dedication to our self’s, the community and the business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluskyscafe?igsh=MXFlZnI5eWJocnQzaA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054672390287
- Other: https://order.dripos.com/Blu%20Sky’s%20Cafe
