Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella Bonello.
Isabella, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started Three Bites out of my home in 2019 as a side project. When COVID hit in early 2020, I got laid off from my corporate baking job. Looking for something to do, I decided to see how far I could take Three Bites with pop ups, markets, and selling out of my home.
In March of 2022, I was finally to open my first brick and mortar. The kitchen was tiny, but we somehow managed to produce our full menu out of it. But something was missing.
We joined forces with Little Cat Boba, a local coffee, tea, and boba business. Together, we were approved as part of a city program for minority and female business owners to help revitalize downtown. We opened our shared doors in August of 2024, and have been blown away by all of the support.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Running a small business is never a smooth road, especially in our industry. Market consistency is hard to come by. Not to mention that managing a build out is stressful and difficult, and we did it twice in three years. Bureaucracy and red tape is always present. It is always a pain to navigate, and when you add that to the post COVID world, and the current political climate, it’s enough to drive you mad.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a small, from scratch bakery with an emphasis on Filipino and Italian (European) pastries and flavors. However, we aren’t defined by these things. We like to explore all sorts of flavor combinations and try to offer things that people in Columbus may not be as familiar with. We like to believe we specialize is specially curated and unique flavors.
I am also the most proud of the culture we have created within our walls. We have built an incredibly supportive environment where employees can be made to feel safe and secure, and are encouraged to have a strong work/life balance.
What matters most to you? Why?
Many things matter a lot to me! First and foremost, it is important to me that everyone that works here feels they come into a place where they are treated with respect and heard. I want to foster an environment of open communication and balance, where people feel comfortable making suggestions without being shut down. This industry is notorious for not having any of those things in a work environment, and we are looking to make a positive change within our industry, starting with ourselves.
It’s also equally important to me that I am constantly pushing myself and my staff to explore different flavors and product executions based on whatever inspiration might strike. I firmly believe that experimentation and fun is an essential part of growth, and I love that we all get to play around here. Not to mention, it’s incredibly important to me to expose my customer base to new and different things, and to push them outside of their comfort zones as well. It makes life more enjoyable!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.threebitesbakery.com
- Instagram: @threebitesbakery
- Facebook: @threebitesbakery
- Other: TikTok: @threebitesbakery
