Community Highlights: Meet Andrea Borchers of Brightside Bakeshop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Borchers.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started Brightside Bakeshop in 2016. My goal was always to start small and grow with the needs and wants of the community. We started at Richland Park Farmers Market on Saturdays. I was still working my full-time job in Marketing at the time, so would get off work on Thursday and Friday and work on preparing for the market. Then, on Saturday mornings I would wake up at 1am and bake everything fresh for the market. From there, we added our first two wholesale accounts, so I would bake and deliver in the morning before heading to my full-time job. In 2017, I left my full-time job and we moved into a commercial kitchen so we’d have more room to grow. Being around other food entrepreneurs was inspiring and encouraging. I also took time to develop my skills as a baker and took classes in brioche and croissants at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and San Francisco Bread Institute. We began to grow our following at Richland Park Farmers Market and would increase the amount of pastries we brought to every market. In 2018, we opened our East Nashville location at the Shops at Porter East. We still produced everything out of the commercial kitchen and transported to East Nashville. In January 2020, we finally opened our West Nashville location in the Nations which included our own production space and retail.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not! Where would the fun be in that anyway? We have had struggles every step of the way, but I like to refer to these as learnings. At first, it was just finding the time to do it all. I always had the energy (still amazed at how much energy I had!) as I LOVED what I was doing, but I didn’t always have enough time as I was working a full-time job and trying to grow a business. Then we had the struggle of finding a space to call home. We looked for at least a year before finally finding the perfect space. Most were too big and too expensive, some would be in the perfect location but not suitable for a bakery or our layout. It took time – as all things do – and that’s a good thing, as it gave us more time to learn.

We’ve been impressed with Brightside Bakeshop, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Brightside Bakeshop specializes in sweet and savory morning pastries (brioche and croissants) and bringing joy to the community. All of our items take at least three days to make, and I believe that requires a lot of love that you can taste in our pastries. I am most proud of our team and the joy we bring to the community every day.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the people of Nashville and the hospitality found in this city! It still has a small-town feel and people that love to support local businesses. I just hope it doesn’t grow too fast and that goes away.

Pricing:

• $4-6 per pastry

Contact Info:

• Email: brightsidebakeshop@gmail.com
• Website: brightsidebakeshop.com
• Instagram: @brightsidebakeshop
• Facebook: Facebook.com/brightsidebakeshop

Image Credits
Andrea Borchers