Exploring Life & Business with Aubrey O’laskey of Transparent Hospitality

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aubrey O’laskey

Hi Aubrey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi!

Tyler and I met in culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. We got married shortly after graduating and decided to open a small private chef business in the west coast in Lake Tahoe geared towards folks that were renting homes around the lake.

We we were so fortunate that our private chef business exploded. We were asked to cater larger and larger events which turned our business into a catering company. We catered weddings all around Lake Tahoe and even into the Napa/SF area.

Tyler began to dabble in baking sourdough bread for our events since we couldn’t get the bread we were accustomed to in NY in the Lake Tahoe area. Since we attended CIA for culinary arts, and not baking and pastry, it was a fun side experiment. Tyler also taught himself viennoiserie.

In 2018, in the middle of wedding season and after having our second daughter, we had the idea to open a small walk up bakery in Reno, Nevada. We opened Perenn Bakery in an 800 sq ft space.

We were warmly welcomed into the community so much so that we would sell out after being open for a couple of hours.

The success of Perenn, made us slow down the catering company and we decided to commit to the bakery completely and shut down our catering company at the end of 2019.

In 2020, we had the opportunity to open a flagship Perenn in a 3600 sq ft space. Just after having our third daughter, we opened our flagship Perenn in 2021 with a full café and bakery.

As a fun side project after having our son (and last child!), we opened Claio Rotisserie in 2022. A Mediterranean dinner spot where we only spin vinyl records and menu centered around the rotisserie.

With the popularity of Perenn, we expanded into the space next door to our flagship bakery and opened Perenn Grocery. You can get home goods, prepared meals, pastries, bread and espresso too!

After living in the Reno/Tahoe area for 10 years, we were craving something bigger. We explored surrounding cities and other west coast areas. One of our original customers had reached out encouraging us to visit Franklin, TN. We think he personally just missed his croissants, but he felt others in the area might enjoy our concept.

We immediately fell in love with the area and also the community. We knew this would not only be an amazing space to expand Perenn, but to continue to raise our four kids in too.

We are so thrilled to open in the spring on 94 E. Main St.

We will also be opening our production kitchen at 2934 Sidco Drive #130, shortly after. You will be able to see all of the pastry and bread production while sipping on a coffee and enjoying a pastry.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This has hands down been the hardest things we have ever done. Moving across country, signing multiple leases, flying back and fourth to Reno to check in on our team there every few weeks. We feel so incredibly fortunate to have each other, our kids and our incredible team during this journey.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At Perenn, we specialize in naturally leavened bread, viennoiserie (croissants), and French-ish menu.

We care deeply about the experience as not only a customer, but member of our team. Our commitment to our community is extremely important.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
This is all new to me! The hospitality, greenery, beautiful landscape, commitment to family and access to incredible farms.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://perennbakery.com
• Instagram: perennbakery