Thunderbird Bakery, Trent Wester and Lizz Redman
Thunderbird Bakery was started as a home kitchen business in 2018 when Trent Wester and Lizz Redman started making sourdough bread in a woodfired oven they built in their driveway.
They transitioned from selling through Farmer's Markets to renting a commercial kitchen in 2019 and rapidly growing the wholesale business in addition to continuing to sell at Farmer's Markets. They then started working with the local chamber of commerce, lenders and the area economic development corporation to obtain funding to buy a building and build out their business, including a retail component.
They were successful in getting the loans but had to adjust timelines and take on more of the building updates themselves as construction and loan costs increased dramatically during the pandemic.
While working through the extended timelines, Lizz and Trent were able to rent a small retail space in downtown Oshkosh in 2023 to build their retail business and continue learning about the business.
In 2024 they were able to open their new retail location and start to consolidate production and sales in one location. The bakery continues to grow quickly and the owners continue to get rave reviews from wholesale and retail customers for the quality of their products.
Thunderbird Bakery makes and sells sourdough-based breads and pastries at their cafe in Oshkosh Wisconsin. They serve both retail and wholesale customers across Northeast Wisconsin
Lizz and Trent were convinced of the opportunity for a successful business when the first batch of successful sourdough came out of the hand built, woodfired oven in their driveway.
Lizz had an education and experience in restaurant startups and Trent brought his skills as a craftsman and bakery to the business. The combination of skills and their willingness to learn convinced them this something they should try to build as a business.
Thunderbird Bakery and Cafe items are handcrafted, made with Wisconsin butter and dairy and other ingredients to provide high quality, local products. They are sold wholesale to numerous cafes, restaurants, small grocers, area farmers’ markets, on the business’s website and through their new retail cafe.
Thunderbird Bakery has learned the business from mentors and other businesses that they have worked with across the country. When working through the applications for various loans and grants they felt assistance from Score would help continue to build their capabilities.
Score helped to work through assumptions for the business plan, preparing financial sections of loan and grant applications and providing mentoring advice on business ideas and direction.
Thunderbird Bakery was the winner of the Rudy Cherkasky award through Score and used the grant to help pay for a delivery van.
Score also helped Thunderbird with their loan and grant applications that ultimately provided the funding for building out the new cafe, thereby growing the business, adding employees and continuing the growth of the business.
Our mentor Terry's professional experience and positive attitude shines through in all that he does for us. While he has mainly helped us refine our financial projections for growth, our mentor also provides the encouragement and insight needed to keep us motivated and positive for the future of our business
Let your passion drive your choice to start a business, but be sure to do your research ahead of time. There are also so many free resources (including SCORE) to help drive your decisions. Most importantly, however, is having tenacity and grit to get through the rollarcoaster of business ownership.
I can help you make your business more effective and efficient through mentoring on strategy...
