Meet Bri Larsen, (she/her) owner and pastry chef at Whisky Business Bakery in Rotterdam, New York. “The bakery came about quite unexpectedly” Larsen tells us as an opening statement for her interview. ‘Unexpected’ is one of the many adjectives that can be applied to the last four months of our lives. Between the pandemic - which has been the catalyst for this project - to any of the humanitarian work and social justice work that has been bubbling over our brains…2020 has been heavy to say the least. Perseverance has been another adjective applied to the last four months for anyone reading this as well. The will to overcome and push forward has been tested for many of humans across our globe, but we can’t lose sight of the better days ahead. Here at Faiella Studios we had taken a reflective step back and then acknowledged and realized that pushing our passion, immersing ourselves in this craft and adapting to the world is how we are going to persevere- this has always been our way to give back.
Speaking of perseverance, that’s what Larsen has been doing throughout starting her business and during the pandemic, as her opening came just a month before the pandemic hit in New York state. “I quit my job in the food industry not realizing what would become of that decision. I was simply tired of working for companies underpaying yet expect the world from me. I’ve had menus and flavors cooped up in notebooks for years.” From her own passions for cooking and baking and the desire to forge her own path, Whisky Business was born.
Whisky Business is a play on words to baking - Larsen tells us with a smile. “I struggled for months to come up with the business name, woke up in the middle of the night and thought of it…I LIVE for puns, they are a daily occurrence and I always incorporate them into the business social media pages.” Besides the meaning of the name being meant to mean whisk as in the utensil, the bakery does infuse some of their products, like their homemade caramel, with Woodford Reserve. That’s not where the bakery ends on their unique concoctions, they partner with many local brands such as Sprinklista, The Dutch Udder, Wolf Hollow Brewing, and Off Duty Cookies to name a few. Larsen is a believer in supporting local, and teaming up with different ingredients to create a tasty and unique desert.
What is her favorite you ask? Well, it’s undoubtedly her obsession with macron she calls a personal favorite since her time studying at the Culinary Institute of America, and has been baking and perfecting her recipe for them for the past ten years. “They are such little gems that people are now becoming more interested and intrigued by!” To be frank, my first macron was from Larsens’ shoppe, and she has definetly perfected the recipe in the last decade.
As we mentioned above, Larsen had opened her bakery parallel to the beginning of the pandemic, and she tells us that “remaining positive during the pandemic sure has been a task”. Like other businesses we’ve featured in the project, Larsen and her team had to adapt to the changes her business would face. “We opened the bakery just a month before all of this began, but are thankful we were able to grow a small customer base in a short period of time.” On top of her customer base who has remained loyal, Whisky Business has gained a large social media following after local news agencies picked up the story of their opening.
“We go into every single day not knowing what to expect. ”
“…hoping to hit our daily sales goal, to connect to other local businesses, and make friends in our community. We’ve learned from the pandemic that bad days may be frequent but it just makes us appreciated the good days that much better!” Larsen has a very optimistic view, and is grateful she gets to do what she loves day in and day out. There’s something to be said about taking a difficult situation and making the best of it.
Like we’ve mentioned in previous articles, the sudden stop of our world as we knew it could be, and has been for many, extremely mentally taxing. Everyone will cope as they need to, and with the world slowly opening back up, we learn to live a “new normal” as they say. This doesn’t mean that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, isn’t still out there. We need to keep our precautions in place, and slowly find out what that means for each part of our lives.
Mental health and self care are important to nurture in life, and being self aware of those things, Larsen is extremely grateful. “I’ve learned that opening my bakery was what I truly needed, it gives me a new purpose, excitement, and meaning”. In this unprecedented and quite frankly stressful time, her gratitude and radiating excitement is inspiring.
“As a new business owner I like to think all of us share that intense passion and drive to do our best to be our best for the public .The public can be quite demanding and yet we smile and do our everything we can to please. I’m proud to be supported by other businesses and have been welcomed so kindly by the community.” There it is… the statement that ties all of this together; human connection. There is so much struggle and stress in the world today. So many small businesses and bigger businesses are closing and struggling - yet at the same time what we (especially the media) are overlooking is the genuine partnership and kindness. I personally have never seen so many businesses collaborate with each other. Whether it be on a smaller scale - these local restaurants and bakeries - to organizations in our communities and beyond. I’m sure I’ve already said this, but it can’t just be a “trend”, or something that “happened because of the pandemic”. We need to build relationships and sustain them, because when you look at what really made society survive, it was the people. Whether it’s reaching out to a friend when you’re feeling low, or reaching out to another business, or friend when you’re feeling incredible - resulting in making these connections.
The world probably will never be the same as it was before this pandemic, therefore it’s up to us to make it better post pandemic and beyond.
Keep an eye on Whisky Business’ social media (@Whiskybusinessbakery_ on Instagram) to see the future pop up style events, their collaborations, or just to make your sweet tooth ache. Better yet, stop by the bakery at 1051 Curry Road, Schenectady New York!
Keep dreaming those buttercream dreams… and in the words of the masterminds at Whisky Business, “support local, stay safe, be kind, and eat well!”
// Please note all quoted statements above are those of Ms. Larsen and not reflective Faiella Studios.