Meet Reina Barreto | Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Reina Barreto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I think that starting my own business was a natural progression after leaving a full-time career as a college professor and moving back to Florida. After fifteen years of teaching in Arkansas and Washington State, I was ready to move back home and start a new adventure and a new career. Even though teaching was a creative endeavor and it was incredibly satisfying to help students, at the end of the day I was feeling a need to step out of my comfort zone and follow my dreams. I had done the right thing academically by going to college, graduate school, and embarking on an academic teaching career, however, as a mentor of mine said to me when I revealed that I was leaving the institution where I had taught for twelve years, “Just because you are good at something, that doesn’t mean that it’s your passion.” Teaching had become repetitive and I felt limited within my profession and having to live so far away from home, so I started immersing myself in pastimes that made me feel alive, joyous, and challenged, such as baking, art, and photography. I saved up money and decided to move to Miami, instead of Tampa where I had lived before, because Miami seemed more aligned with my interest in living in a growing and dynamic city with opportunities to work in the arts. I began painting and working at art galleries while taking care of my elderly father. In 2019, two years after arriving in Miami, my father passed away and then shortly after that we entered the pandemic. It was a time of profound change and a realization that I was ready to venture out on my own and start a business. Despite all of the changes that I experienced, I never stopped developing my skills and interests. I had several ideas for a business and began studying how to go about opening one. It seemed scary at times to know that I would sacrifice stability and would be taking new risks but in the process there were conversations with family, friends, and other business owners that led me to develop the idea for Maggie Bakery. With Maggie Bakery, I would be combining skills, interests, and experience, as well as catering to a growing market for Latin and Spanish products both locally and at a national level. The idea for a bakery came from the wonderful recipes for flan and other Hispanic foods that I had inherited from my mom, Maggie. Maggie, who was originally from Cuba, had been a ballet dancer, a teacher, and a great cook. I had started making my mom’s flan for my students at the end of the semester as a way to thank them and to share my cultural heritage; it soon became my go-to dessert for gatherings and as a gift to others. Clients and acquaintances at my husband’s work in Hialeah began paying for these flan desserts and that’s where the idea started to become a real business. Maggie Bakery officially opened in May of 2022 and I am excited to see where it goes!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As I mentioned in my response to the first question, I left an academic teaching career of fifteen years to pursue my dreams as a creative entrepreneur. It has been a process of five years now and really, it’s just getting started. It has been exciting to set off on this new path, learn, grow, and meet new people, however, some of the financial challenges have not been easy. Over these past few years, I have had to take up part-time jobs to build savings to invest in starting my business. One of the challenges I face at the moment is not having a physical location and large enough space for my business. I use my kitchen at home to operate under Florida’s cottage industry laws. I have had to adjust my menu to include only those items that can be sold under these laws, which means no flan for the time being. Despite the limitations of legalities and physical space, my goal is to provide the best possible product to my customers and that’s why Maggie Bakery’s products use all natural, quality ingredients and are made by hand with the utmost care and consideration.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My week long itinerary would include food, nature, culture, and art. I like the idea of combining food with local atmosphere, natural settings, and art, so I would definitely take my visitor to eat, shop, and sightsee in Little Havana’s Calle Ocho with a Cuban meal and cafecito at Versaille Restaurant, locally-made, artisanal chocolates at Exquisito Chocolates, and a mojito and live music at Ball and Chain; the Wynwood Arts District, which would include a tour of Wynwood Walls and the Rubell Museum, as well as a stop at Cielito Artisan Pops; a visit to the Perez Art Museum and Bayfront Park; a stroll through the Design District and a stop at Aubi & Ramsa for ice cream; lunch at Chef Creole and a visit to the Little Haiti Cultural Center and Laundromat Art Space; a tour of the Art Deco buildings in South Beach and some time at the beach before dinner on Española Way, and watching the sun set at South Pointe Park and Pier.

We would spend a day at Key Biscayne’s Bill Baggs Cape State Park and Crandon Park, as those are some of my favorite spots for nature and relaxation. Another great natural and historical location we would visit is Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. I would pack a picnic filled with Maggie Bakery goodies for a visit to Fairchild Botanical Gardens. We would walk along Miracle Mile in Coral Gables visit the Coral Gables Museum, and then relax with some tea and a dessert at Books & Books before catching a film at Coral Gables Art Cinema theater.

Finally, I would want to grab take-out at Bombay Corner in Shenandoah and enjoy a picnic along Coconut Grove’s waterfront parks.
\ Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to thank my husband, Erniel Chacon Pérez. In addition to being my taste-tester extraordinaire, he has been by my side supporting me through the entire process, learning with me, putting on the oven mitts when necessary, and cheering me on.

Website: https://maggie-bakery.square.site

Instagram: @maggiebakerymiami

Image Credits
Edgar Matias