Meet Nicole Gillota-Brichacek of Gypsy Beans & Baking Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Gillota-Brichacek.

Hi Nicole, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up baking and cooking with my Grandmothers. After high school, Culinary school felt like the natural next step. I spent three years at Hocking College and graduated with my Culinary & Hotel Restaurant Degrees and a certificate in Classical & Production Baking. I moved to Cleveland Ohio from our rural family farm and bopped around in restaurants either serving or working the line. My sister called in April of 1998 and asked if I would join her in Europe to travel for the end of the year. How could I resist?
I found a job working in a bakery for the mornings before going to the restaurant. I was able to save up and joined her in August of that year. We traveled extensively around the continent – France, Italy, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Chez Republic, all of England and Ireland. I arrived back in the States just after the new year and started back at the bakery full time. Ohio City Muffins wholesaled to Starbucks, Caribou, and 20+ other Independent coffee shops in northeast Ohio. Shortly after the corporate accounts shifted to a national chain bakery, I started working in one of the independent coffee shops we baked for. I fell in love with coffee culture, creating a food menu, the community I worked in.
By the time I was 29 I was longing to work for myself, and combine the coffee culture I loved, the food I missed making at restaurants, & the precision of baking. I bought Ohio City Muffins on my 30th Birthday as stepping stone to opening my own Café.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ohio City Muffins was located on the top floor of a warehouse. The spaced worked as a wholesale location, it was not the most ideal production space and there was not an option for retail. I started looking for locations on the Near West Side of Cleveland. I knew of the Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood since is was next to Ohio City where I had spent the last 8 years working and had been privy to the development of the Gordon Square Arts district. I signed a 20 year Lease in April of 2026 and bought a hammer.

Twenty years in a neighborhood has had ups and downs. The growth of streetscape infrastructure and road construction, the growth other businesses, of townhomes, apartments, and homes create ebbs and flows of business that keeps you on your toes. But it all feels worth it when the children that were babies when you opened bring their college friends in for their favorite piece of bakery or coffee.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Gypsy Beans is the place that feels like coming home; where you come to celebrate a milestone, find comfort on a bad day, joyfully meet a friend to catch up, or put your head down to get work done.
The menu offers something for everyone, there are vegan, vegetarian, Gluten Friendly options, healthy as well as indulgent. It is ironic to me that I named Gypsy for my travels and wandering but it has turned into a place of homecoming for so many.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up on a 100 acre farm raising cattle, sheep & horses. We had a huge garden and would grow most of our food. I played piano and read books. I always wanted to learn. I loved watching the Frugal Gourmet and Julia Childs in the winter or on rainy days. I would try to create their recipes or apply their techniques to the ingredients from the farm or things that my grandmothers taught me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://GypsyBeans.com
• Instagram: GypsyBeansCLE
• Facebook: Gypsy Beans & Baking Co.