Courtesy Frenchie’s.
Ten minutes after the H Street NE FRESHFARM Market opened for the season last weekend, the arrogant editor approached, thinking she would finally beat the crowd for a plain Frenchie’s croissant. She was wrong, but happily ham and cheese versions of the pastry were still available. Ten minutes later, nearly every item for sale was gone.
That’s the way it’s been for owner and baker Erica Skolnik since she began selling the pastries she spends hours each night baking at the market in summer 2013. It’s part of the reason why she plans to open a store on the Northeast corridor this summer.
Skolnik, who lives in Brightwood Park, thought that area of the Northwest would be a great spot for a bakery. “Which it is,” she said by phone Thursday. “But because this farmers’ market was so, and still is, such a popular stand, I said, ‘Well this is kind of a no-brainer. I should find something over here, because this is my customer base that’s dedicated rain or shine 45 minutes before we open.'”
“It’s so humbling,” she said of the neighborhood’s reaction to what she bakes. “People are so patient. We don’t get yelled at. They know what to expect, and they’re just waiting for us to get there to where we can be caught up.
“The fact that people are happy when they have what I’m making … it’s just really cool. It still blows my mind.”
With Frenchie’s products now sold in other spaces around the city, including Each Peach Market, and a beefed up wholesale option, Skolnik says “we really need our own space.”
“I have always wanted to go back to … [having] that storefront where people can interact and learn more about what we’re doing,” Skolnik, who previously managed Cowgirl Creamery on F Street NW, said. “It’s always been a part of the plan.”
Skolnik has turned to Kickstarter to raise some of the funds needed to buy more equipment and finish the retail space, which has already been secured. With 14 days to go, $4,818 of the $39,750 goal has been raised.
“I’ve always known that in order to make more croissants, we would have to get a sheeter and a proofer and equipment to still shape and cut by hand but feed along the process,” she said. “Last year when we were doing the market, a lot of customers were like, ‘You need to start a Kickstarter. We’ll run it for you. We want more croissants.'”
Skolnik said she first wanted to secure a space before turning to the community for support. “That’s really the whole basis of Kickstarter,” she said. “If people really believe in you and want to support you, this is a great way.”
Rewards for small donations include a croissant postcard, apron or free pastry. Donors who give larger amounts will receive baking classes and a SuperFan membership. But Skolnik says, “The reward of me being in their community everyday is what will keep people going.”
She admits that “it’s a risk” to set such a high goal: “But I’m up for the challenge.”
Once Frenchie’s opens, an event scheduled for late summer, Skolnik says there will be coffee and some seating. “Eventually there will be a bread program,” she said, adding that she’s figuring out how to bring in a team to focus on this.
Indeed, her staff of two — “which is two more people than I had a year ago,” she joked — is already growing and resumes are still coming in.
More help isn’t a bad thing for Skolnik, who bakes from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and then has to tear down the shared space she uses at Seasonal Pantry.
“When we have a more established space and team, it will feel a little more steady,” she said. “But it’s rewarding. Once I get to that market on Saturday, I’m exhausted but this is so fun.”