"Bright spots of hope, joy, surprise... and deliciousness." That's how The Buttery co-owner Amanda Kitterman described what The Buttery set out to create when they first opened in 2024. Starting out as a simple cart with bakery items, experimenting with pop-ups, expanding to a greenhouse, moving production to a commercial kitchen, and launching a location in a brick and mortar building, The Buttery has seen big growth in a short time.

Co-owner Nicole Cox shared with students "Consistency is a key to success." While menu items change each day, The Buttery always offers breads, pastries, soups, and salads with an emphasis on seasonality and fresh ingredients. Nicole and Amanda get to express their creativity through food while using formulas and processes to streamline production.

The Buttery Neighborhood Pantry works on the honor system, a model they have used since the beginning. Customers select items, ring them up themselves, then pay, all on their own. This arrangement works well for the owners, who wanted to be able to balance family time and other obligations without having to worry about staffing the store.

The Buttery's humble beginnings on a rolling cart fondly referred to as "Bertie" (aka Big Bertha) and gradual expansion has allowed them to build their customer base, test recipes, and develop proof of concept - all while operating with low overhead. Because their kitchen is offsite, The Buttery has had to work with production and regulatory limitations. One of the unexpected benefits was the discovery of a large vegetarian/vegan market in our area, which they now cater to.

Thank you to The Buttery for hosting CEO this morning! (And thank you for the delicious cinnamon rolls and focaccia! YUM!)