Billy Bryan is the new owner of Whisk, a six-year-old Richmond bakery. (Photos courtesy of Whisk)
Whisk, the 6-year-old Richmond bakery, has changed hands.
Founder Morgan Botwinick sold the shop to industry newcomer Billy Bryan for an undisclosed amount March 1.
The deal included both the 1,400-square-foot cafe at 2100 E. Main St. in Shockoe Bottom as well as the company’s production facility at 403 Strawberry St. in the Fan. The company leases both spaces.
Morgan Botwinick
Bryan doesn’t plan any major immediate changes to Whisk or its footprint, but he does plan to grow the business. Under consideration are an expansion into mail order service and a return to wholesaling to local businesses. He also didn’t rule out additional cafes in the future.
“I’m not planning on making any major changes immediately. I want to assess the menu and get through the spring season before I decide how I would continue,” he said. “There are some plans on the drawing board. Some of them are major and some of them are just ideas right now.”
Bryan does have at least one firm change for the Whisk menu: the introduction of Italian rainbow cookies, which will join the existing menu of muffins, cakes, croissants, breads, coffee and other offerings.
The tri-colored treats, known by several names and which feature almond-flavored sponge cake and chocolate, helped set him on the path to become Whisk’s new owner.
Bryan visited New York City with a friend before Christmas and had hoped to find a good Italian bakery selling the cookies. When that didn’t pan out, Bryan and his friend shared their frustration on a visit to the friend’s Sicilian aunt on the way home, and she shared her own recipe.
Bryan, who studied pastry arts at Colorado Mountain College, tweaked the recipe and found they were a hit among friends and family.
“People were like, ‘You need to figure out a way to sell these,’” he said. “The trip to New York and the cookies were definitely the pivot point to make this happen.”
Bryan went on the hunt for a commercial kitchen space, thinking he would launch a mail-order bakery. In the course of the search he stumbled upon Botwinick’s broker Gavin Raphael of Light and Raphael Business Brokers, who had the listing on Whisk and pitched him on buying the company.
“Immediately, I was interested,” said Bryan, who is 46. “Since I was young, I had always wanted to own a bakery and it was something in the back of my mind for a number of years. But like many things in life you take other paths for a while.”
Bryan is an organizational management consultant who works with small- and mid-sized businesses to streamline their day-to-day operations.
Whisk’s Fan production facility is also home to its baking classes, which Bryan plans to restart after they were put on hold during the pandemic. The production facility is on the floor above ice cream shop Scoop, which Botwinick also founded but sold in January 2020.
Some of the baked goods sold at Whisk.
Botwinick opened Whisk in 2015. She said she felt it was time to sell because she had done all she could with Whisk, and Bryan fit the bill as someone who would take the company to a new level.
“It was a decision I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Botwinick said. “I had some opportunities that would have meant growing the business, but I didn’t really feel like that was something I personally wanted to explore. I certainly feel like this business can grow but felt I had taken it as far as I could go myself.”
Botwinick said she plans to take a breather before launching a new venture.
“I’m taking some time off to decompress, and then my sister and I will go into business together. We’re going to start an interior design firm we’ve been discussing for the past few months,” Botwinick said, adding the firm will cover both Richmond and Washington, D.C., where her sister lives.
“It’s something we’ve both been very interested in. And as we both worked on our own homes and helped out friends and family, we got more inquiries from people wanting our help.”
Botwinick said Whisk has been able to navigate the worst of the pandemic. The company has 10 employees. She has been helping with the transition to new ownership.
“It’s obviously been a roller coaster and ‘pivot’ has become the word of the last three years, but I think we weathered it very well. We were lucky we were set up to be takeout-only for a while when we needed to,” she said. “In this moment, things do feel more normal.”
Billy Bryan is the new owner of Whisk, a six-year-old Richmond bakery. (Photos courtesy of Whisk)
Whisk, the 6-year-old Richmond bakery, has changed hands.
Founder Morgan Botwinick sold the shop to industry newcomer Billy Bryan for an undisclosed amount March 1.
The deal included both the 1,400-square-foot cafe at 2100 E. Main St. in Shockoe Bottom as well as the company’s production facility at 403 Strawberry St. in the Fan. The company leases both spaces.
Morgan Botwinick
Bryan doesn’t plan any major immediate changes to Whisk or its footprint, but he does plan to grow the business. Under consideration are an expansion into mail order service and a return to wholesaling to local businesses. He also didn’t rule out additional cafes in the future.
“I’m not planning on making any major changes immediately. I want to assess the menu and get through the spring season before I decide how I would continue,” he said. “There are some plans on the drawing board. Some of them are major and some of them are just ideas right now.”
Bryan does have at least one firm change for the Whisk menu: the introduction of Italian rainbow cookies, which will join the existing menu of muffins, cakes, croissants, breads, coffee and other offerings.
The tri-colored treats, known by several names and which feature almond-flavored sponge cake and chocolate, helped set him on the path to become Whisk’s new owner.
Bryan visited New York City with a friend before Christmas and had hoped to find a good Italian bakery selling the cookies. When that didn’t pan out, Bryan and his friend shared their frustration on a visit to the friend’s Sicilian aunt on the way home, and she shared her own recipe.
Bryan, who studied pastry arts at Colorado Mountain College, tweaked the recipe and found they were a hit among friends and family.
“People were like, ‘You need to figure out a way to sell these,’” he said. “The trip to New York and the cookies were definitely the pivot point to make this happen.”
Bryan went on the hunt for a commercial kitchen space, thinking he would launch a mail-order bakery. In the course of the search he stumbled upon Botwinick’s broker Gavin Raphael of Light and Raphael Business Brokers, who had the listing on Whisk and pitched him on buying the company.
“Immediately, I was interested,” said Bryan, who is 46. “Since I was young, I had always wanted to own a bakery and it was something in the back of my mind for a number of years. But like many things in life you take other paths for a while.”
Bryan is an organizational management consultant who works with small- and mid-sized businesses to streamline their day-to-day operations.
Whisk’s Fan production facility is also home to its baking classes, which Bryan plans to restart after they were put on hold during the pandemic. The production facility is on the floor above ice cream shop Scoop, which Botwinick also founded but sold in January 2020.
Some of the baked goods sold at Whisk.
Botwinick opened Whisk in 2015. She said she felt it was time to sell because she had done all she could with Whisk, and Bryan fit the bill as someone who would take the company to a new level.
“It was a decision I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Botwinick said. “I had some opportunities that would have meant growing the business, but I didn’t really feel like that was something I personally wanted to explore. I certainly feel like this business can grow but felt I had taken it as far as I could go myself.”
Botwinick said she plans to take a breather before launching a new venture.
“I’m taking some time off to decompress, and then my sister and I will go into business together. We’re going to start an interior design firm we’ve been discussing for the past few months,” Botwinick said, adding the firm will cover both Richmond and Washington, D.C., where her sister lives.
“It’s something we’ve both been very interested in. And as we both worked on our own homes and helped out friends and family, we got more inquiries from people wanting our help.”
Botwinick said Whisk has been able to navigate the worst of the pandemic. The company has 10 employees. She has been helping with the transition to new ownership.
“It’s obviously been a roller coaster and ‘pivot’ has become the word of the last three years, but I think we weathered it very well. We were lucky we were set up to be takeout-only for a while when we needed to,” she said. “In this moment, things do feel more normal.”
As a former employee at another local bakery, I am thrilled Whisk has weathered the pandemic and continues to serve the Richmond area. Best macarons ever! And we always appreciated the generosity of cross-referrals for products that our bakery or theirs didn’t offer. Those rainbow cookies are surely going to be a hit, based on customer requests I fielded all the time (just make sure to specify to customers that they’re more complex and specialized than the ever-popular Ukrop’s rainbow cookies).
As an across-the-street neighbor, I’m happy to see that Whisk will continue on. Looking forward to the rainbow cookies and maybe more additions (bagels???)