Meet the Baker Boys

The Vallier brothers, not yet out of grade school, are running a booming business baking sweet rolls their customers can’t resist.

Jonathan and Judah Vallier make and sell homemade cinnamon rolls from their Port Washington home with the help of their mother Adele.
By 
Mitch Maersch

Judah and Jonathan Vallier of Port Washington are running a money-making, mouth-watering business.

The entrepreneurs are grade school students. Judah is 10 years old and Jonathan is 8.

Last summer, the brothers set up a lemonade stand for an entire day at their grandmother’s house near Thomas Jefferson Middle School. They did well. Most customers tipped high.

“I don’t remember anyone taking the change,” Jonathan said.

Their hottest-selling item, however, wasn’t a beverage. It was homemade cinnamon rolls, and that was the inspiration for the business the boys are operating this summer.

Judah explained, “We started out with the first month of taekwondo and we found out it was kind of out of our budget, so my mom suggested we start a business.”

Cinnamon rolls are their product, and since starting a couple of weeks ago sales have risen faster than dough in an oven.

These are not run-of-the-mill rolls. The boys use a recipe passed down from their grandmother Cindi Dinkler that has 10 ingredients, including a secret one.

It isn’t the first time the rolls have been put on the market.

“When I was a kid, we sold cinnamon rolls at garage sales,” their mother Adele, who grew up in Appleton, said.

Her sons needed a name for their venture. Adele suggested Baker Ninjas, but Jonathan thought that was weird. Baker Brothers was considered before they settled on Baker Boys.

A Facebook page allowing for online orders and word of mouth has kept the boys busy. They’re already booked through June and have several orders for July. As of last week, 40 orders have been filled with more than 60 to go. Orders for Father’s Day piled up last week.

“We need employees,” Judah said.

“It has exploded,” their mother said.
“It was a little bit of a learning curve to figure out what we could actually do in our limited kitchen. I think some people do think we’re a brick-and-mortar store.”

The boys usually make the rolls the night before, rolling the dough “just like a sleeping bag,” their mother said.

Adele supervises but lets the boys do the work. Dough ingredients must be precise, but there’s a little wiggle room in the amount of light brown sugar and cinnamon.

The boys have learned how to use a mixer. “If you do it wrong, flour or powdered sugar goes everywhere,” their mother said.

They are also employing proper food safety procedures.

“They are washing their hands all the time, probably more than they ever have,” their mother said.

The business has necessitated special trips to the grocery store where the family often gets the inquiry, “Oh, are you having company?” Adele said.

She taught the boys to figure out the costs of ingredients and packaging, and what they had to charge in order to make a profit. Half a dozen rolls are priced at $15, and a dozen at $20.

She said the business  is a good learning experience for her home-schooled sons. The boys’ profits go to taekwondo, church and savings. They get $5 per week of spending money.

Some orders get baked and others allow customers to do the baking. Rolls should reside in a 350-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, depending on how well done the customers like them.

Each order comes with homemade thank-you notes from Judah and Jonathan with drawings of a cinnamon roll.

Rolls are either delivered inside Ozaukee County or picked up.

Unbaked rolls are available at the Baker Boys’ home from 8 to 8:30 a.m., and baked rolls from 8:30 to 9 a.m.

At 9 a.m., the boys head out for deliveries. Their mother does the driving but that’s all.

“I don’t go up to the door,” she said, She and her husband Jon have taught their sons how to talk to adults they don’t know, smile, make eye contact and give a strong handshake.

“It’s been good for them to do the person-to-person interaction,” Adele said. “It has been a fun way to get to know people.”

One time, they accidentally went to the wrong house. The person who answered the door was happy to take the rolls, but they soon found the correct address.

Deliveries are usually completed by lunchtime.

“We’d like to enjoy our summer as well,” Adele said, adding much of their time will be spent at the beach or park and recreation department’s pool.

The boys said the most challenging part of the business is the hours. They sometimes have to get up at 5:30 a.m.

Their favorite part isn’t uncommon for any baker, young or old: “Licking the spoon when we’re done with the icing,” Judah said.

Their mother hasn’t asked the boys to help in the kitchen often before this summer, but Judah took a cooking class and learned to make omelets. Jonathan likes to make scrambled eggs.

“I think it’s good just to have some basic skills in the kitchen,” their mother said.

Customers have already asked for gluten-free versions or flavors. Adele said they may consider a caramel pecan version.

The plan is to continue the business throughout summer, but she said they may entertain the idea of doing business on weekends during the school year.

The Baker Boys’ product choice has been helpful in that cinnamon rolls aren’t often used in fundraisers and aren’t easy to come by.

“I feel like we have a niche,” Adele said.

The business has another upside for the family. Jon is a pastor at Alliance Bible Church in Mequon and is forming a new parish, Lakeside Alliance Church in Port, this summer.

The cinnamon rolls have helped build relationships in the community, and the rolls will likely be at a meet-and-greet event for the church in August, Adele said.

Jon, a native of Kansas, met Adele through Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute camp in Spokane, Wash. — Adele jokes that the Christian college is nicknamed “Moody Bridal Institute” since so many people meet their future spouses there.

The couple lived in Washington, then Pennsylvania before six years ago moving to Port, where they plan to stay.

The Baker Boys’ goal by the end of summer is to make sure “we’re not eating our profits,” Adele said, and to pay for taekwondo at Midwest Martial Arts in Saukville.

The Baker Boys’ Facebook page is at www.facebook.com/portbakerboys.

Feedback:

Click Here to Send a Letter to the Editor

Ozaukee Press

Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

125 E. Main St.
Port Washington, WI 53074
(262) 284-3494
 

CONNECT


User login