Note: Happy Bakery closed temporarily this spring, but will reopen in July.
When Vicky Lambert first opened City Buns two years ago in West Chester, it lasted all of seven months. It wasn’t her delicious cinnamon bun recipe that was the problem—it was her business model. She spent several months tweaking it, reopening in West Chester this past December with a new sign out front. The expanded menu at Lambert’s Happy Bakery also includes cookies, brownies, petite cakes and more.
MLT: How does a lab technician become a bakery owner?
VL: I was working in a biochem lab, and I felt so distant from it. During COVID, we saw this location that was closed all the time. We contacted the owner, who said, “I just need to get rid of the space.” I hated my job and had always wanted a bakery, so I took the risk.
MLT: What happened with City Buns?
VL: I definitely bit off way more than I could chew. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I got so burned out. I felt like I had to do stuff because that’s what successful business owners did. City Buns was doing really well, and people loved it. But I just felt like the stuff wasn’t the quality I wanted it to be. I asked myself how I’d be happiest doing this bakery. What was it missing? It didn’t feel like me.
MLT: What changed with Happy Bakery?
VL: I call it Happy Bakery because now I’ve been incorporating all the things I love. I did a lot more product research and really tested my abilities. The first big change I made was the ingredients. I finally found a distributor that has the ingredients I wanted. It’s more expensive, but it’s crazy how much better flour and eggs can impact dough.
MLT: How have you changed?
VL: I just changed my mindset completely. There are always obstacles, and every time I had an obstacle with City Buns, I’d say, “This is the worst day ever.” Now, when things go wrong, I just deal with it.
Follow along on Instagram @happybakerywc.
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