IBIE - 2022 Special Edition & Show Preview - 97

RETAIL PERSPECTIVE
her, current business partner Javier Amador-Pena
owned a separate business, El Colombiano Coffee.
Both got their beginnings selling their products at
local farmers' markets. They each owned their own
business but found that their products and their
passion for their work complemented each other
perfectly. When it was time to grow and expand,
they came together and hatched the idea for
Monumental Market.
" We started talking: What if we opened a space
together? " Munger recalls.
It made sense. Construction and rent can run
into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to
mention the labor costs of staff. If this would work,
cooperation and camaraderie were essential.
" It's all blended, and we each have fun with
our concepts, " Munger explains. " It's kind of a
farmers' market vibe with one POS transaction.
We're in 900 square feet of space, for retail and
production. "
Online expansion
Innovative retailers are also experiencing unprecedented
growth in demand for fresh foods,
including bakery. On the technology front,
Amazon announced Buy with Prime, a new
benefit for Prime members that will extend the
convenience of Prime shopping to online stores
beyond Amazon.com. Buy with Prime will initially
be available by invitation only for merchants using
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and will roll out
through 2022 as merchants are invited to participate,
including those not selling on Amazon or
using FBA.
Buy with Prime will allow millions of US-based
Prime members to shop directly from merchants'
online stores with the trusted experience they expect
from Amazon - including fast, free delivery, a
seamless checkout experience and free returns on
eligible orders.
Local connections
Hard times require imaginative thinking. Kelsey
Munger, owner of Lavender Bee Baking Co., at
Monumental Market in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood
of Boston, started baking in 2017. Like
Ode to the past
At Blue Jay Bistro, the female-led restaurant in
Littleton, NC, Chef Ashleigh Fleming leads the
charge, crafting the menu as an ode to her childhood,
while celebrating North Carolina through
locally and regionally sourced ingredients and
surrounding Southern influence. The restaurant's
pastry chef Brittany Elmore recently created and
introduced the Pumpkin Churro to the menu - a
fun, seasonal spin on the classic Spanish pastry.
" I think the key to our menu development is our
culinary team. We have a small core group in the
kitchen that has a really diverse professional background
with very different flavor profile preferences
and past experiences that we are pulling
from, " Fleming says. " We all work
together - so someone comes
up with an idea and then usually
a couple of us tag team it,
pass it back and forth with
different components and
plating, and come up with
something we are proud
of. Every dish is kind of
collaborative. "
Elmore continues to find
inspiration within the hometown
she grew up in - taking
classically southern desserts
she was raised with and recreating
them utilizing simple and delicious ingredients
in an elevated, fun new way.
Manresa Bread
introduces a
new baguetteat-home
baking
kit for
avid bread
customers.
Pastry chef
Brittany Elmore
of Blue Jay
Bistro takes
classically
Southern
desserts and
recreates them
in an elevated,
fun new way.
*
INSIDE IBIE | 97
Manresa Bread/Blue Jay Bistro
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