Delightful Pastries
Pastry chef and entrepreneur Dobra Bielinski acquired Delightful Pastries in 1998 with the help of her mother and fellow baker Stasia Hawyrszczuk. Dobra, who had minimal business training, struggled to increase her sales and profits in the midst of a changing market and growing demographic.
After receiving a Challenge Grant from CCV, Dobra was able to enroll in a small business training course focused on business efficiencies and improving profit margins. According to Dobra, "Taking the class has helped me look differently at how I hire and retain staff and has shown me how to improve problem areas. By implementing check lists and improving my production methods, I've increased my sales by 21%." Today, Delightful Pastries has twelve full-time employees and Dobra is hoping to start a mail-order business through her web site.
Dobra is also committed to supporting the surrounding community and insists on using local ingredients in her products whenever possible. "We try to support local farms as much as we can and use only natural ingredients. We get a lot of our fruit from an orchard in Michigan, our butter comes from Grand Rapids, the vanilla from Waukegan and our raspberry jam comes from a producer in Chicago." Dobra donates any unused products to community organizations.
Thanks to the grant Dobra received from CCV and her hard work and dedication, Delightful Pastries has seen phenomenal growth and success—something that has a far-reaching positive effect on the community and local economy. Says Dobra, "CCV has been really wonderful and supportive. They are always there to encourage me and give me support and advice."
For more information on Delightful Pastries, visit www.delightfulpastries.com.