Jim Baker, 62, owns Pizza Baker, LLC, positioned on Major Street close to Rodd Street in downtown Midland. They give sour dough, wood-fired pizza, for dine-in and take-out despite the fact that Jim stated the pizzas are ideal eaten in the dining space “fresh out of the oven.” You can order in individual or on the net at www.pizzabaker.net. The shop is open Tuesdays from four:00-eight:00pm and Wednesdays by means of Saturdays from 11 a.m.-eight p.m. They are closed on Sunday and Monday.
In addition to Jim’s wife, Janet, and their son, Jameson, who each function at Pizza Baker, they have ten staff. Jim and Janet have been married for 34 years.
Jim’s a graduate of New Lothrop Higher College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and public wellness education from CMU and a master’s in wellness solutions administration from the University of Detroit. They came to Midland in 1997 when he was the manager of the Household Practice Center at the Mid-Michigan Regional Healthcare Center.
How extended have you owned your enterprise? We began this as a component-time mobile enterprise in 2014. We have an oven on a trailer. 1st began performing private catering, we nevertheless do that. Just after a couple of summers, we got the licenses to do public events and set-up at the Farmers Industry and festivals.
What inspired you to personal the enterprise? To give my son a summer season job. In 2014, I constructed this small oven on a trailer. We did pizza parties for good friends and households, had no intention of becoming a enterprise. We began obtaining telephone calls from individuals I didn’t know. It began evolving. I was downsized from a job in the summer season of ’14 so my wife and I decided to give the enterprise a opportunity to develop. We opened downtown in August 2019.
When I began performing these parties, from time to time it was just me and Jameson, or all 3 of us. He thrived. He 1st began taking orders. He helped reduce pizzas and provide them to the buffet tables. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, an intellectual disability on the autism spectrum, but he’s physically match. Really sharp thoughts. When anything hits his thoughts, it in no way leaves. If you are a creature of habit, he will ring up your order prior to you location it and confirm that is what you want. Jameson knows the customers’ names. He’s truly the face of Pizza Baker. If he’s not there, individuals ask exactly where he’s at. He participates in Particular Olympics and the Kiwanis Aktion Club, a neighborhood group for individuals with disabilities.
What tends to make Midland a wonderful location to personal a enterprise? The neighborhood supports tiny enterprise in basic and, in unique, they help our mission of not only pizza, but supporting individuals with disabilities. Jameson’s not the only individual with a disability who performs for Pizza Baker.
What are some approaches your enterprise is active in the neighborhood neighborhood? We help the Arnold Center. We invest in our greens for our salads, that are grown hydroponically at Arnold Farms. We participate in Shelterhouse’s Restaurant Week. We have students from the ESA (Educational Service Agency). We’re a function internet site.
What are some of your interests and hobbies? I appreciate spending time with my wife and my son. Outdoors of the enterprise, I appreciate cooking, experimenting with distinct flavors. I play guitar. I not too long ago got into tinkering with guitars, purchased a really low-cost Chinese guitar, tore it apart and rebuilt it.
What are some neighborhood companies you function with that enable make your enterprise a results?
We have a formal arrangement with 3 Bridges Distillery and Taproom, subsequent door. When you dine at Pizza Baker, you dine with soft drinks, but you can go to 3 Bridges and order with your server our pizza and appreciate it with your cocktail or beer. Grape Beginnings Winery will let individuals take our pizza more than there. We’ve carried out exchanges with other tiny companies about town, present card swaps. Supports them and supports us.
Final thoughts to share? A massive thank you-we have a really loyal buyer base. These consumers refer new consumers to us. It is our consumers who permit us to thrive.
