Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridget Thibeault.
Hi Bridget, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My name is Bridget Thibeault. I am the chef/owner of Luna Bakery & Cafe. I began my career in advertising in Chicago after earning a degree from Marquette University. A love for cooking and creativity led me to make a career change at age 29 and earn a culinary degree from the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago. I thought I wanted to own a catering business eventually but I moved to NYC to become a food stylist and launched Flour Girl, my cake/pastry business, out of my apartment. I returned to Chicago in 2004 to work as culinary director at a culinary consulting firm, doing recipe development, writing, testing, and product ideation. My nights and weekends were spent making wedding cakes and pastries for Flour Girl. In 2006, I relocated to my hometown of Cleveland, working as pastry chef at Fire Food & Drink while growing Flour Girl. In 2011, I partnered with The Stone Oven Bakery to open Luna Bakery & Cafe. Luna, a cozy European-style pastry shop & cafe in Cleveland Heights, offers fresh breakfast, lunch, and dinner options including crepes, salads, paninis, and local coffee. Specialties include made-from-scratch pastries and wedding cakes. The neighborhood embraced our concept and we expanded our seating twice to accommodate our guests.
In early 2017 I bought my partner’s shares of Luna and became the sole owner of the business. I opened a 2nd location in Moreland Hills in June of 2018. With growth, we needed more space which led to an 8000 square foot production facility in midtown Cleveland in 2021. Here we make our croissants, wedding cakes, sugar cookies, and macaron.
About a month ago I signed a lease on a downtown Luna location on W. 9th St. with plans to open in winter 2023. I am very proud of growing a local, woman-owned business focused on fresh and natural food and pastry. My priorities right now that I think lead to our success are the culture of our company, the customer experience, and the quality of our food. I want every customer to feel that we are doing something special in giving them great service and creating a wonderful space for the community to gather. And the food must be high quality and consistent.
I am member of EO (Entrepreneur Organization), Cleveland Independents, and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business Program. I live in Shaker Heights with my husband, 12-year-old son, and 7-year-old daughter.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I can’t imagine anyone in the restaurant industry has a smooth road! I am in a really tough business but it is so rewarding and I love what I do. Before Luna there were a million crazy stories learning how to run a business out of an apartment. But the first 5 years of Luna were the hardest. I worked 6 days a week and tried to oversee every aspect of the operation. It was physically exhausting and mentally draining. I was also putting off having a 2nd child because I felt like there wasn’t time. Thankfully I realized I needed to change and I began to focus ‘ON’ the business, rather than just surviving each day. It was a hard transition but I needed to turn a better profit and work on systems, process, and culture. There is no playbook for this and I had some management experience but not for the large company we were becoming. I also signed up for Goldman Sachs 10KSB program at Tri-C and then upon graduation joined EO (Entrepreneur Organization). Surrounding myself with other entrepreneurs has been transformational for me and my business. There are so many things I wish I could change about our industry and I’m trying. We pay a fair wage to everyone that works for us but I know they all deserve more for such a demanding job. We offer health care, 401k, paid vacation, meals, flexible schedules but many employees are hourly or working more than one job because they are pursuing other passions or in school.
COVID was terrible for our industry but we survived and are continuing to grow. I couldn’t have done it without PPP and SBA loans and my team worked extremely hard to keep Luna running smoothly while staying as safe as possible.
We’ve been impressed with Luna Bakery & Cafe, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Luna is proud to be known as the best scratch bakery in Cleveland. The staff is wonderful and the talented chefs create delicious, fresh food for breakfast and lunch using the best ingredients. Handmade crepes, grilled paninis, salads, and soups are offered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The pastry selection includes croissants, macarons, cupcakes, decorated sugar cookies, tarts, crepe cake, and many seasonal offerings. Luna Cake Shop is where our creative cake team bakes and decorates original works of art for weddings and special occasions.
Finally, Luna also offers catering – breakfast and lunch trays, box lunches, and pastry trays.
Luna has 2 cafe locations (Cleveland Heights and Moreland Hills) with 75 seats and additional patio seating. A 3rd cafe will open this winter in downtown Cleveland on W. 9th St. Luna also has a production facility in Midtown.
Luna is an amazing place to work with health benefits, 401K, vacation, meals, staff parties, and flexible schedules.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I have always been very optimistic and I think my enthusiasm for what we are creating really shines through – not only great food and service but a community for our staff and guests. I am passionate about scratch food and pastry and educating people on the importance of eating well and supporting local businesses. I also believe in kindness and treating each other with respect. One of our core values is ‘genuine thoughtfulness’ and it means that we take care of each other at Luna which allows us to take better care of our guests.
Contact Info:
- Website: lunabakerycafe.com
- Instagram: lunabakerycafe, lunacakeshop, lunasugarcookie
- Facebook: lunabakerycafe
- Twitter: lunabakerycafe
Image Credits
Lauren Gabrielle
Scott Meivogel
Erin Seedes
Billy Delfs
