<b>Owners: </b>
Tom and Mary Pat Lally
<b>Short bio: </b>
Born Scranton, Pa. BS Food Service Penn State University. Manager of several restaurants in the 1970s. Baking late 1970s to early eighties. Sales of bakery ingredients from 1982 to 1989. Self employed since.
<b>Why did you choose this particular business? </b>
I felt a greater sense of accomplishment baking than serving just meals.
<b>Why did you choose to work for yourself rather than as an employee for someone else? </b>
When I was younger I set some goals for myself. One of them was to work for myself. As I went from bank to bank trying to get loans, my wife and I decided to use our house for collateral. We had to finance our house three times to get the money we needed.
<b>What have you learned from being in business? </b>
If you keep doing the right things, and train good people to help, you will be successful.
<b>Share an anecdote of a challenging or humorous experience or biggest surprise learned from working your business: </b>
I have been surprised by the number of people who know me through the business. I was on vacation and going into the airport at Shannon in Ireland and the person in front of me turned and said, "You did my wedding cake 14 years ago." That has happened in Boston and New York Airports also.
<b>What have been the advantages and/or disadvantages of operating a business in Alexandria? </b>
The biggest advantage has been the number of people who good quality food and pastry items. They're educated and for the most part have traveled quite a lot.
<b>Manager: </b>
Daniela Santos, General Manager.
<b>Short bio: </b>
Caxias do Sul Brazil. Single. Teaching, and banking. BS.
<b>Key staff: </b>
Spencer Morris Jr. Chef (17 years) Fernando Zurita Pastry Chef (16 years).
<b>Description of services and/or products: </b>
We are a full service pastry shop making everything from scratch. We offer gourmet to-go salads, sandwiches and entrees. On weekends we have limited breakfast until one. Our catering department services corporate and social accounts in the metropolitan area.
<b>Professional affiliations/associations: </b>
Member Alexandria Chamber of Commerce