Jennifer Betances, the founder of Fresh Baked Cafes (Brookfield, Elm Grove, Oconomowoc), is giving our southeast pocket of Wisconsin something to look forward to in the mornings. Once you walk into one of her cafes, you’ll know why.
The smell of freshly baked dough and coffee greets your nose as you step into her little oasis. As you walk past the display of pastries, you’re greeted by croissant options like savory ham and cheese, brown sugar and blueberry, honeycomb and butter, strawberry, raspberry, pistachio, or the classic chocolate. We can’t forget about the warm baguettes sitting on the counter either.
Her journey to opening up her cafes, with the mouthwatering European-inspired pastries and hot coffee (the Spiced Maple Latte is our favorite), was filled with many influences.
She was born in Spain and raised in Miami, where her great aunt taught her to cook from a young age. She studied abroad in Europe, and it was in France where she truly fell in love with the culinary world and French pastries. For many years, she would dream of opening her own cafe and bringing the flavors she experienced growing up, to Wisconsin.
Jennifer got her start by becoming a vendor at local farmers’ markets in Oconomowoc in 2018. While she wasn’t sure how the community would respond or how receptive the area would be to those types of pastries, she quickly found out: “in a short period of time we had lines of 20,50,80 people.
Every weekend, she’d sell out, further igniting her dream of having a physical cafe. In 2019, it became a reality as she opened her first location downtown Oconomowoc. It wasn’t without its challenges, though.
“We had many challenges, you know, working with customers, dealing with all of the ins and outs of running a business, insurance, and Workers’ Compensation. It was an incredible learning experience, and we continue to learn every day.”
Another thing she also had to do was help customers understand that everything they make is fresh and homemade: “we hand-make all of our pastries in-house every morning.” This isn’t a Starbucks-type operation despite having expanded to multiple locations now.
A year after opening the Oconomowoc location, she opened her Brookfield location (2020), and shortly after that came Elm Grove. She wanted to be able to give locals a European experience without having to leave the suburbs. Opening not one, but two locations during peak COVID times is a testament to how loved Jennifer and her pastries are.
“Elm Grove has been a wonderful place to be. We have grown exponentially into a complete coffee shop with pastries. Our team that works out of that location is very coffee inspired. They love to create flavors like honey bear raspberry mocha, and then she also does seasonal stuff which is fantastic. We’re really happy and proud to be a part of this community.”
Her impact in the community goes even deeper than her cafes. The local middle schools have asked Jennifer to come in and teach the students about her processes: “I felt very inspired to be able to show them just a little bit of the ins-and-outs of what we do on a daily basis.”
For Jennifer and her Fresh Baked Cafes, bringing people together through pastries, no matter they’re age, is what it’s all about. She’s passionate about sharing a piece of her heart, her life, and her love with the Milwaukee area.
“I think what sets us apart from any other business is that we use traditional inspiration to create pastries that change the way you think, test your palate, and leave you feeling inspired. I hope to be able to continue to share the love that I have of Europe, to give people the opportunity to taste something outside of their everyday, and to enjoy being with their friends and family at a place that gives them a chance to taste something delicious.”