Pedretti's Bakery

Some of you might remember this post from January.

Six likes. Zero comments. I remember thinking, well, that one went nowhere.

The next morning at 7:27, a reply to my story. “Yes!!!! For the bakery!!!”

The grant deadline was seven days away.

Confession: I'd never written a grant before this one.

But I've written a lot of proposals for clients, and presented my MFA thesis in front of a committee. Both come down to the same thing. Figuring out what a business needs, why it matters, and the value it adds. Turns out that's most of what grant writing is.

And here's the thing. This grant was specifically for brand revitalization. Basically, giving a beloved business a fresh look without losing what makes it special.

Even American Express knows branding and marketing aren't the extras you add when there's a little extra money left over. They are your whole identity. They're how people find you, remember you, and choose you over and over again.

The grant committee doesn't want a wish list. They want to hear a story and they want to see a plan.

“We need help” isn't a plan. Real plans with vision get funded. Itemized budget, real numbers, timeline. Every piece scoped, priced and ready to go.

As for story, well that's where we had it easy with Pedretti's. Joe and Mary Pedretti started something special. Jane and her son Christopher kept it going. Today Christopher and his wife Jamie carry it into the third generation, with the same passion. Our proposal just made it easy to see.

Pedretti's was one of 500 businesses in the whole country to win the Amex Shop Small Grant. And it was because they told their story and we built a plan.

Your turn. Finish this sentence for your business: I need [a brand refresh / a website / marketing] so my customers can [the result you want].

The first thing we did on this project? Make a list of what wasn't changing.

Less exciting than jumping into the fun stuff. But that list shapes and sets the tone for everything else.

For Pedretti's: the cases, the red trays, the floors, the awning and the Open and Closed sign.

You'd notice if it were gone, even if you couldn't say what changed. That's what recognition actually is. Not a logo. The thing people would only notice missing.

The brief was never “modernize it.” It was “make the old thing feel cared for and put together.”

So if you can't change everything at once, you're not doing it wrong. Make the list. Decide what's staying. Design around it on purpose.

Pedretti's already had a logo. It just wasn't finished.

And honestly? It did its job. People knew it.

That's how it goes for a lot of small businesses. You get a logo made quick and nobody ever has time to go back and tidy it up.

So we didn't throw it out. Starting over would have cost them the recognition they'd already built.

We polished it.

A couple of letters got a little “bite” taken out of them. It's a donut shop, after all (see pages 2 and 4). The rolling pin got a thicker outline so it holds its own next to the bold lettering. Redrawn curves and spacing. And that tiny icon in the browser tab? It used to be a generic donut anyone could use. Now it's their own P, with the same bite as the full logo. For a lot of people, that little square is their first look at the bakery online.

Nobody will notice any one of these on its own. They'll just notice it finally feels put together.

If your logo is “fine but kinda off,” you might not need a new one. You might just need it finished.

I grew up in Mumbai, where color is loud, everywhere, and completely unbothered about it.

So trust me, I get the urge to use all of them. And every font while you're at it.

Pedretti's has six colors and three fonts. That might sound like a lot. It's not, because every single one has a job.

That's the system. Same goes for the logo versions and the illustrations. It all shows up on the menu, the signs in the window, and every post.

Here's what most DIY brands get wrong. It's not that they have too many colors or fonts. It's that none of them have a job. So every post starts from scratch, and you're making the same decisions over and over. No wonder you're tired.

Give every color a job. Give every font a job. Then stop deciding.

Over a million views in four months. $0 spent on ads.

The year before? About a quarter of that.

So what changed? The social media plan and strategy.

Before, posts went up when there was time, then it went quiet. Totally normal when you're running the business and doing the marketing.

People already loved Pedretti's. They just never got to see the work behind it, or the family that's been doing it since 1968.

The following was there. The relationship wasn't.

Think of it like a friendship. You can't just make a friend and then forget about them. You show up. You check in. You nurture the friendship.

So that's what we did. We made a plan with an achievable schedule, the same look every time, and warm captions that sound like you're chatting with your neighbors. Even the mistakes became posts, and some of those were our best.

And a big shoutout to Jillian Webb for the amazing photos. She captured the bakery exactly how it feels, and made every post easy to love. A few are mine from my iPhone too, but my main job was figuring out what to do with them, and how to tell a story that resonates with people.

My favorite number? One woman drove 65 miles and crossed the Mississippi after seeing a post. And she brought friends. Do you know how big that is for a small town?! It's HUGE!!

Doing it yourself for now? Start with a plan, not a post. Pick a schedule you can keep, make every post match your brand, and check in with your online friends.

If you need help coming up with a plan and schedule for your business, you know where to find me.

Want to know what most DIY brands forget?

The part people see and feel in person.

Your grid matters. But if your business has a door, your brand has to work there too. That's where people decide if they're coming back.

My favorite part? We went down to the bakery basement and found vintage bakery equipment sitting in the dark. Now it's the year-round window display. The bakery's own history, back upstairs where people can see it.

Inside, we kept the walls quiet on purpose. The food is the loudest thing in that room.

Your turn. Before you buy anything new, go look at what you already own. Then ask two questions about everything a customer sees in person. Could someone read it in six seconds while holding a toddler? Does it look like the business they follow online?

Big thank you to the local hands who made it happen:

• Window display: Michelle Gifford
• Green cashier cabinets: Willie Lough, Creative Woodworking LLC
• Rolling pin indoor signage: Monica & Paul, Tiffany & Weller
• Wall menu: Ryan Burke, thINK Custom
• Aprons: Cindy Mueller, The Stitchin' Post
• Exposed brick: Stan Thomas, Thomas Tuckpointing

A website shouldn't make you guess if they're open.

So we packed Pedretti's new site with little details that answer before you ask.

Depending on the bakery's hours, the big photo on the homepage switches between the storefront by day and the storefront at night, with the open/closed sign to match. On your phone, the homepage is a video of customers walking through the door. Right below it: today's hours, and a heads-up that it's cash or check only, before anyone shows up with a card. A little pill in the footer shows what's happening right now. A tiny drawing of the bakery shows the corner it sits on. And the online menu looks just like the one on the wall in the shop.

The About page tells the story like a movie. A year counter rolls from 2026 back to 1968. A timeline walks through three generations. Then a night at the bakery plays out, photo by photo, until the clock hits 6 a.m. and the doors open.

Because every website has five seconds to answer three questions. What do they have? Where are they? When are they open?

Don't make people do the math.

Your turn. Pull up your own website on your phone. Can you find your hours in five seconds? Then go poke around pedrettisbakery.com and find your favorite part.

I promised you a $500 plan. Now let's get to it.

Kidding. Did we really think $500 would get us anything in this economy?

Here's the real version: $5,000.

The first $1,000 goes to what people see in person. That's what helps get people through the door.

• Fresh paint
• A sign you can read from across the street
• One good photo shoot of your products and your building

The rest goes to what keeps them coming back.

• A brand that looks consistent everywhere
• A website that answers their questions before they ask, and makes them think, “If the website is this cool, the store must be even better.”
• A social media plan with content made for you

That last one is the part that pays you back. It keeps working even when you're closed for the night.

Since we started running Pedretti's social media, they've sold out by noon most Saturdays. And people drive 50+ miles to get a donut. That says something, right?!

But money doesn't tell you what to fix first. Strategy and experience do.

Every business's $5,000 looks a little different. Book a free 20-minute call and I'll tell you where I'd start with yours.

Huge thank you to Christopher and Jamie, and to the local hands who built this with us.

That's a wrap.

Book a free 20-minute call