Do you have a craving for gourmet cookies or sourdough bread? Who Doesn’t! Butter Sweet Baking Company is a cottage food bakery in Rainier. Primarily a self-serve stand where customers are able to walk up and purchase goods, Grace Robinson, the owner of the bakery, also takes pre-orders for specific items in high demand and custom requests.
Rainier Bakery a Passion Project for Grace Robinson
Grace began her business by expanding her simple passion for baking cookies to a bakery stand based out of her home for locals to appreciate freshly-made items. As a new mom, she initially was searching for an outlet, and that manifested as providing neighbors and friends with treats they could enjoy. Gradually, she was prompted to build a more substantial platform to share her love for baking with the rest of the community.
“I had seen many people on Instagram and online opening up microbakeries and I kind of wanted to do more than just the custom cookies,” says Grace. “So I decided to go for the little bakery stand in my front yard!”
Grace highlights how social media has contributed to her inspiration for starting the bakery, alongside her natural inclination for experimenting with flavors and recipes. “No one in my family really baked and my parents weren’t passionate about baking or cooking or anything like that,” she explains. “I kind of just had a sweet tooth all growing up and I started baking, experimenting, and developed my passion from there.”
Starting with foundational ideas present in cookbooks or on social media, Grace enjoys putting her own spin on them and taking them to the next level so people have a special experience when tasting her homemade goods.
Offering Baked Goods in Rainier to Support a Local Need
A smaller town in Thurston County, Rainier doesn’t have many options for local sweets. Besides satisfying a personal interest in baking, Grace has found purpose in being able to provide fresh items for the community. “People in this area don’t usually travel too far from Rainier, so they’re not going anywhere to get any fresh bread or cookies,” she explains. Those people especially are excited to get that here.” For many locals, the simplicity of the stand is a convenient way for them to integrate fresh bread and sweets into their everyday lives.”
Many have expressed their support and complimented Grace on how she has enriched the area, which she highlights as being the most fulfilling part of the job. “The way the community encourages me, receives me,” she says, “I love that people are grateful and they let me know they’re glad I’m here.”
Grace consistently aims to use high-quality ingredients, prioritizing finer chocolate brands and organic components, especially flour, to increase the depth in her offerings.
Expanding the Menu While Staying a Local Bakery in Rainier
Grace is a military spouse and mom of two, which makes planning for future goals difficult. Instead of pursuing the potential to develop into a storefront, Grace would like to focus on maintaining the current business model she has, and growing from there. In regards to moving forward with Butter Sweet Baking Co., she says: “I try to look as far as I can. My aspirations for now are to keep the model that I have and I would love to expand with the things that I offer. Other types of sourdough baked goods I would love to do, and maybe some pastries, and I would also love to be more involved in the local markets and things.”
The motivation for her business stems from bringing joy to those in the community, but her priority is finding balance between family, managing two kids who are in school, and working on the bakery stand. Her week involves a dough day, where she makes her sourdough, a baking day, and then opening on Thursdays, with other tasks spread out throughout the week.
Butter Sweet Baking Co. is approaching expansion with intention. By staying connected to the community, Grace has been building a business that both satisfies her personally and adds immensely to the local scene. She plans to focus the majority of her energy on ensuring the stand is able to show up consistently for those who look forward to accessing fresh items as part of their weekly routine.
Find out more about Butter Sweet Baking Co, including current hours and offerings, visit Instagram or Facebook.
