“La Familia Sempre” – Family Always
Andrew Macey grew up baking with his mother, Patti. Anywhere from the kitchen, to the basement, their house was always full of baked goods. As Andrew got older, he decided he wanted to open up a shop with his mom, and him being a college student at the time, saw there were no good coffee shops around that students could study in.
Andrew opened up the bakery with his mom in July 2012. In 2020 they expanded the bakery to a second location, which is a Pizza shop called Patti's La Cucina. The SBDC assisted with helping them navigate the SBA for financing. In 2022 they started the process of purchasing their new location for the new building. The SBA was a big help in making the business plan make sense, along with the 3-year projections.
“Our business is strong, but I do not have a financial back ground, and was unsure how to put what I know about this business into words that made sense to the banks. We had to be able to show the banks that we are financially strong to take on this expansion which is a million-dollar project,” says Andrew Macey.
That is where Jeff with the SBDC was able to help. With the help of Jeff and the SBA, they were able to secure funding by the end of 2022 and finalized their purchase on January 13, 2023. Ryan Lockhart at Pursuit which is part of the SBA has also been big help in aiding in finding a bank and truly believing in what they are doing as a company. Ryan was the one that introduced to the SBDC and they have been using us for the past 3 years.
“I think having organizations that truly care about small businesses and are honest about the projects that small businesses are trying to do is the only reason we are in the position we are in now,” says Andrew Macey.
“La Familia Sempre,” an Italian saying that means “Family Always”. Andrew held onto that saying when opening their store. He wanted the shop to capture the feeling of walking into grandma’s house, it doesn’t matter if you have had the best day, or the worst, you walk out feeling recharged and like you got away from the world for a little bit.
“This is what it is really about, making everyone who comes in feel like they are part of the family and keeping the family’s memory alive! Just like the saying, ‘La Familia Sempre’.” – Patti’s Pasticceria.