For the fourth-generation owners of Bredenbeck’s Bakery, keeping a 130-year-old business alive means knowing what traditions to keep — and which ones to leave behind.
Jacob Boyd and his brother Irvin officially took over Bredenbeck’s Bakery and Ice Cream Parlor from their mother in 2022.
“It is hard to make a leap in such a well-established business. At the end of the day, with the data that we have, it supports that, so you can make at least an educated leap.”
Jacob Boyd, Bredenbeck’s Bakery
Since taking the reins, the pair have used sales data and changing customer preferences to rethink how the bakery operates, from the products it sells to the hours it keeps open, Boyd told Technical.ly. That has meant moving away from some longtime staples, expanding into custom and wedding cakes, and adjusting the business to reflect how Philadelphians shop for baked goods today.
But making those decisions can be difficult while also managing customers’ expectations, especially for a business that’s been in the community for so long.
“It’s just continuously adapting with the services and products that are out there,” Boyd told Technical.ly. “Hearing the demands of the community and being responsive to not just their wants and needs, but their changing desires.”
Boyd found that trying out new technologies has helped inform where to pivot. Integrating a point-of-sale system showed them data that backed up their choices to focus on certain baked goods.
One of the clearest examples is the bakery’s shift away from danishes. Boyd’s grandfather once made 1,500 danishes a day, but over 50 years later, Bredenbeck’s customers weren’t as interested in pastries for breakfast. The bakery stopped making them.
Those extra resources were poured into more cakes and, while 10 years ago, the business was only selling about 200 wedding cakes per year, it now makes about 1,300.
Even though these choices made business sense, it was still painful to introduce changes to their customers, Boyd said.
“It is hard to make a leap in such a well-established business,” he said. “At the end of the day, with the data that we have, it supports that, so you can make at least an educated leap.”
From bakery kids to business owners
Bavarian immigrant Frederick Bredenbeck opened the first Bredenbeck’s in 1889 as strictly a bread bakery.
It wasn’t until the third generation of family members took over that the establishment began selling desserts.
Boyd’s family took over the business from the Bredenbecks in 1954, after his great-grandfather had been an employee of the bakery for almost 20 years.
The Boyd brothers grew up helping out at the bakery, but they were never forced into the family business, Boyd said.
“We always grew up as Bredenbeck’s being a pseudo-babysitter to us,” he said. “I would have afternoon kindergarten. My mornings would start making cookies for my class, and helping out on the counter.”
The pair thought they wanted to open a restaurant together, but quickly decided that wasn’t the path for them. When they decided to go all in on the family business, Irvin went to school for culinary arts, and Jacob studied business management and supply chain operations.
Now, Irvin is the head of product development and Jacob manages business operations.
Baked into the community
Bredenbeck’s relationship with Philadelphia has always gone beyond selling baked goods.
Throughout the years, the bakery has occupied multiple locations throughout the city, but is now down to just its Chestnut Hill storefront.
Because of its long-held ties in the city, Bredenbeck’s tries to give back to the community when it can, Boyd said. They often donate gift cards to local activities and food to three local food pantries.
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The bakery has also received help back from Philly. It received a storefront improvement grant from the city’s Department of Commerce to renovate the storefront, install security cameras and restore the mural on its building.
Despite the ever-evolving nature of the business, the core of the bakery is its customers, Boyd said. He often hears stories from patrons about how meaningful certain pastries are to them.
“When we hear those little anecdotes, it gives wind in our sails,” Boyd said. “We are part of people’s lives and it’s very fortunate that we have that privilege.”
