Is Red Hen Moving?
You may have heard a rumor to that effect floating around. Well, it is true! While we are still in the early stages of this process, we are happy to share the specifics that we know at this time.
Where is Red Hen moving to?
We feel very fortunate to have secured a building just ½ mile west of our current location in Middlesex. We will be on the same side of the road that we currently are. The building is set back from Rt. 2 just a little more than our current one, but easily visible. (Soon you will see our sign going up on the building.) The address is 31 Welch Park Drive in Middlesex.
When is Red Hen moving?
This is a question that is hard to answer precisely. Our goal is next spring. Achieving that goal will depend on many factors having to do with permitting and construction timelines. We’ll broadcast updates as we know more specifics.
Is the café moving or just the bakery?
Our desire has always been to have our bakery and café be co-located so that our customers have the ability to see the magic happen. Our future site will allow us to do that while also providing more space for both sides of our business. We are also planning to enhance the experience of seeing the bakers at work.
Why is Red Hen moving?
There are many reasons for this. Some of the top ones are:
More café space. You may have had the experience of not finding an open seat during our busy lunch hour. We have planned for 12 more seats in the new cafe space.
More kitchen space. We can’t serve more people without having more space to make the food.
More bakery space. For many years we have had to turn down requests for our pastries from store and restaurant customers. Our pastry team wants to spread their wings a little and this will allow them to do so. We also have other bread varieties that we would like to offer. Look for some pan-baked bread in our future!
Better parking and delivery flow. Our current facility was built in 2007, when we had been in business for eight years just baking and delivering bread to stores and restaurants. One of the great surprises and pleasures of the last 17+ years has been seeing our café become a destination for people travelling through the area. Today, our café business accounts for half of our total revenue. We couldn’t be happier about that, but you may have experienced some of the challenges this has created in our parking lots. Presently, our lots do triple duty with our own vans, trucks making deliveries and customers’ vehicles all sharing the same space. Our new location will have separate access for each of these three types of vehicles. (And it will all be paved!)
Will you still have the creemee window?
Absolutely!
What will happen with Red Hen’s current space?
That is a question that only our landlord can fully answer. We can assure you that their creative and enterprising spirits will be making space for more retail (and likely food and art-focused) businesses that will enrich the village of Middlesex. We feel so fortunate that we will still be a part of that landscape as we embark on our next chapter.
More café space. You may have had the experience of not finding an open seat during our busy lunch hour. We have planned for 12 more seats in the new cafe space.
More kitchen space. We can’t serve more people without having more space to make the food.
More bakery space. For many years we have had to turn down requests for our pastries from store and restaurant customers. Our pastry team wants to spread their wings a little and this will allow them to do so. We also have other bread varieties that we would like to offer. Look for some pan-baked bread in our future!
Better parking and delivery flow. Our current facility was built in 2007, when we had been in business for eight years just baking and delivering bread to stores and restaurants. One of the great surprises and pleasures of the last 17+ years has been seeing our café become a destination for people travelling through the area. Today, our café business accounts for half of our total revenue. We couldn’t be happier about that, but you may have experienced some of the challenges this has created in our parking lots. Presently, our lots do triple duty with our own vans, trucks making deliveries and customers’ vehicles all sharing the same space. Our new location will have separate access for each of these three types of vehicles. (And it will all be paved!)
