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The Flour Shop, Cara Vasquez
Cara Vasquez is owner and operator of the Flour Shop in Flower Mound, Texas. Cara, herself, is a pastry chef. She can and will bake a customer any pastry that is their heart's desire. To know Cara is to know she loves to bake and loves her business.
Cara has a shop that serves walk-in traffic as well as custom orders. Menu items run the range from cookies to custom pies and cakes.
I grew up baking with my mom and learning from her. So, it seemed like a good idea when she suggested that I go to culinary school… Best decision I ever made!
Cara came to SCORE in July of 2015. Cara came to SCORE on a recommendation from SBA. Cara has made 16 face-to-face sessions with SCORE. Cara came to SCORE to get assistance in taking her business to higher levels of revenue and profits. Cara was also interested in freeing up more time for family.
Cara and her SCORE mentors immediately began to go over the financial statements and business plan. The menu, product volumes, and profitability were examined. Average ticket expenditure was determined. Cara has a loyal customer base. Treatment of customers was high on Cara’s business agenda. During meetings with SCORE Cara determined she needed more traffic and more wholesale accounts. Cara was one of the better-prepared clients we have encountered. Cara has since found more free time, more revenues and profit.
In the last 8 months, Cara has decided to move her shop next door to Flower Mound, Texas. The new location will give the Flour Shop more visibility, space for more sit down dining, and wholesale accounts. The traffic increase is going to be an exponential increase. There will be an estimated 35,000 vehicles passing the new location daily. Up from 100 vehicles. The view for Cara is definitely up.
After high school, I attended culinary school at El Centro College in Dallas. Shortly after that, I started working as a baker. I worked for the same Dallas restaurant for 10 years as a baker and bakery manager at two of their three locations. My dream had always been to open my own bakery, and I spent my career gaining the experience needed to take this step. On June 27, 2011, my dream came true! I opened The Flour Shop Bakery in the Shops at Highland Village.
I do not consider baking a job; it is a hobby that I am lucky enough to be able to do for a living. I like to bake things that remind you of when you were growing up. I love when people tell me that they had a dessert of mine that took them back to something their grandmother made, something that they have not had in years. Being able to bring back those memories for my customers through something that I baked means the world to me.
I bake from my heart, taking old-time favorites and making them my own. It is very important to me to keep things traditional, the way my mom taught me. I do not use any artificial flavors or mixes and I try to make sure that even though I might take things up a notch, they still taste the way you remember them… maybe just a little better.
Score helped me understand the business principles involved and make my small business a success.
