Are Bakeries Considered Restaurants: Learn The Difference
Are bakeries considered restaurants? This is a common question that many people ask, but the answer isn’t always clear. Some are convinced that they are while others think they aren’t. The truth is, there’s a lot of factors to consider when deciding if it’s one or the other and we will go over those in this article!
In addition, I will explain what qualifies as a restaurant and some additional aspects considering bakeries such as why do they open so early and do they bake everything from scratch. But first, we need to understand are bakeries restaurants or not.
Bakeries aren’t considered restaurants because they do not prepare the foods from the customer’s order. Bakeries sell food that is already cooked and ready to eat for immediate consumption inside of the bakery itself.
Also, if the bakeries have tables, they don’t serve food to the customer tables, but in most cases sell them behind a counter.
This is another reason why bakeries aren’t restaurants because they are self-service establishments where the customers are handed the products behind the counter and they can usually get the coffee and other items by themselves. Of course, there may be some exceptions where the bakery is more towards the restaurant style, however, these kinds of businesses are quite rare.
But if a bakery isn’t a restaurant, what exactly is it then? This is a valid question that I will reveal to you next!
Contents
What type of business is a bakery
A bakery is a business type that sells mostly flour-based foods such as cakes, bread, pastries, pies, and anything similar of sorts. There are many kinds of bakeries that most are open to the public where you can go and purchase fresh baked goods that are baked daily.
There are also many bakeries that aren’t open to the public and they sell their products to retailers, restaurants, institutions, grocery stores, and other places of business that aren’t open to the regular person.
The third kind of bakery is an online bakery. This type of bakery is usually an online store where you can purchase whatever they have available and ship it to your doorstep.
Most bakeries like restaurants have a different type, style, or orientation of baked goods that they specialize in, such as bread or pies. Some bakeries have a more diverse selection of available products and some are just about one specific item like cupcakes or cakes.
All the different types of bakeries will also usually sell coffees, tea, water, lemonade, and other drinks collaboratively with their food selections. Let’s dive more into the different bakery types!
Types of bakery
Bakery Café
A bakery café is an establishment where the customers can sit down and enjoy the different products that are offered within the bakery. This kind of bakeries usually has a large variety of products from cakes to cookies and salty pastries to sandwiches. You can usually spot a bakery café in a corner of a building with modest outdoor seating and a small entrance.
Counter Service Bakery
A counter service bakery is quite like a bakery café but without the seating area. These bakeries can look small but they usually have well-equipped kitchens and they usually can take large orders from customers. A counter service bakery has a display case for all the different products to choose from and they usually have a take-out coffee, tea, or other beverages as well.
Specialty Bakery
A specialty bakery is a business that is focused on certain types of baked goods. The most recognized specialty bakery is a wedding cake shop which can be really profitable if you have the required skills to produce these high-quality cakes. There are also many others like cookie, cupcake, and bread focused. In addition, the product itself isn’t the only one where a bakery can focus on. For example, there are many vegans, health, allergy, and protein-focused specialty bakeries as well.
Home Bakery
Home bakeries are an important starting point for many. This is because it is so easy to set up and you will only need equipment, proper space to operate, and all the required licenses. The last part of that list is extremely important to check individually because it differs from country to country and even from state to state.
Food Truck Bakery
A food truck bakery is a bakery with wheels. It is no secret that food trucks can pull quite a bit of profit and one with a focus on baked goods isn’t any exception. Most food truck bakeries don’t bake all the foods in the truck because the space is so limited, however, they do have beautiful display cases and storing capabilities for large masses of people.
What qualifies as a restaurant
There are many different types of restaurants, but what are the aspects that qualify them all as restaurants? Restaurants are eating establishments that need to prepare and serve the food to customers, in addition, they offer seating where they can dine. However, there are also take-out restaurants that offer only delivery services and they are considered as restaurants as well.
Why do bakeries open so early
It is so important to understand why bakeries open as early as they do in the morning. Bakeries are nearly always open as soon as people start going to work so they can pick up their favorite baked goods on the way. The demand is so high so the bakeries have adjusted to being open so early.
The actual bakers and baxters usually start their work at 2am – 4am so they can prepare the doughs and other goods in the required time so they can rise and only then they can start to bake them. Therefore the whole baking process is long and there is a lot of waiting time for the ingredients so they can be the best quality for the customers.
Do all bakeries bake from scratch
The answer to this question is a board one and the overall answer is yes and no, let’s see what I mean by that.
There are bakeries that bake literally EVERYTHING from scratch, but unfortunately, the amount of these kinds have been constantly decreasing over the years and there is a reason. When competing with different industrial bakeries that do everything from pre-made frozen products, the price difference is so high that only a few people would choose a bakery that bakes everything from scratch, even if it is the real deal.
Most bakeries these days bake their products from quickly preparable frozen products and the quality difference really isn’t that large. Of course, this varies a lot however if you don’t have two cakes side to side, you don’t probably recognize the difference.
In the modern days, it is just not profitable to open a bakery that does everything from scratch, when you have other options that are easier, faster, and cheaper at the same time.
What is usually sold in a bakery
Bakeries sell a huge variety of products from salty foods to sweet, and the style of the bakery will also greatly determine what are found inside of the establishment. I have listed some popular baked goods that are sold in a bakery.
Salty bakery goods
- Bread (Baguettes, Pitas, Bagels, Tortillas, etc.)
- Pastries (Empanadas, Beef Buns, Bougatsas, etc.)
- Crackers
- Salty Pies
- Salty Tarts
Sweet bakery goods
- Cakes
- Muffins
- Pies
- Cookies
- Tarts
Conclusion
Generally, bakeries aren’t restaurants but there are some hybrids of both worlds where the bakery focused establishments are considered restaurants.
This article was all about understanding the business model of bakeries and in what category should they be placed. In the end, it really doesn’t matter and if you crave a baked treat, you should definitely get one!
Here You’ll Find My Favorite Kitchen Equipment.
Thanks for reading this article! I hope that it brought you real value that you can benefit from in your personal life! Here is my top kitchen equipment that I seriously couldn’t live without, and I think they could ease your life as well as they do mine.
- Knife set: As a chef, I can’t stand dull, poor-quality knives without any design. My absolute favorite kitchen knife set is the Gangshan 3-Piece Knife Set. It comes with a handcrafted 8″ chef’s knife and a 3.5″ paring knife. What I love even more than these flawless knives is the walnut knife block which is incredible and unique.
- Skillet: In addition to knives and my unwillingness to bargain with its quality is the cookware. My favorite skillet is Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet. This particular skillet is 9″ in size, it is heavy, it gets very hot, which is what is required to get a good sear, and it is just beautiful, as are all Le Creuset products. Le Creuset doesn’t need an introduction as a brand, as it is one of the world’s rated brands.
- Food processor: I remember when I hadn’t a food processor at home. It wasn’t easy! But now, when I use my Ninja BN601 Food Processor, I can make anything super fast, which saves me many hours per week. This food processor has 1000 watts of power and four options, including chopping, slicing, dough, and purees. I also like the middle-sized 9cup (2.1l) bowl as it is big enough yet not too big to look unfitting in my kitchen.
- Tweezers: Dalstrong Professional Cooking Tweezers are like tongs but much more elegant, thin, and easy to use. They are great for virtually anything, but flipping, turning, and grabbing with them is easy and makes cooking much more fun! These Dalstrgon tongs are titanium coated and very durable. Also, I like the black color instead of the everyday steel.