Time again for home-based Utah baker to “fly the coop” for a commercial space

Andie Corban Jul 24, 2023
Heard on:
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Rita Magalde, center, with her employees Desi Hayda, left, and Hayda's mother, Helene Simpson, right. Courtesy Rita Magalde

Time again for home-based Utah baker to “fly the coop” for a commercial space

Andie Corban Jul 24, 2023
Heard on:
Rita Magalde, center, with her employees Desi Hayda, left, and Hayda's mother, Helene Simpson, right. Courtesy Rita Magalde
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The summer is usually a relatively slow time for sales at Rita Magalde‘s business, Sheer Ambrosia. Magalde sells baklava that she bakes in her home kitchen in Draper, Utah. This summer has been busier than usual, as she’s started selling at a nearby farmers market and is preparing to open a commercial kitchen in a few months.

“My daughter is 19, my son is 23, and they’re both out of the house now,” Magalde said. “The only baby I have left in my house is Sheer Ambrosia, and it’s time for her to fly the coop too!”

From 2013 to 2016, Sheer Ambrosia was in a commercial space, but Magalde is using a different business model now. This time around, the location is smaller and will be used primarily as a kitchen, not as a walk-in bakery for customers. The 600-square-foot space in Salt Lake City will also feature a will call area for customers to pick up their online orders.

“I have been saving, but I may have to get a loan this time,” Magalde said. She’s kept all the receipts from the last time she opened a commercial space. “A reach-in double refrigerator was $2,600 the last time. Now it’s almost $6,000, so more than double the cost.”

Magalde anticipates the kitchen will be operational around September.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.