Bloom Bake Shop blooms in Hartford with baked goods and flowers

Beaudoin, a graduate of Johnson & Wales’ culinary program, always dreamed of opening a bakery and cafe, she said. She originally launched the business in 2020, first working in a commercial kitchen space in Hartford’s fast factory and sell baked goods at farmers’ markets and other pop-up events. Pilon and their father, Rich Beaudoin, joined the business a year later.

“We started to see a lot of synergies, because Monica does a lot of wedding cakes, and often brides would ask for flowers to decorate the cakes,” Pilon said.

They opened the Bloom Bake Shop storefront on Pratt Street on August 25, featuring freshly baked baked goods, coffee and espresso drinks, and a flower bar. Bloom sells small and large arranged bouquets and bud vases, and the sisters said customers will indulge in floral pick-me-ups, taking the flowers back to their offices or dorms.

Pilon gets most of the flowers from the Connecticut Flower Collective in Meriden, she said, a group of nearly 30 farms in Connecticut and New York that offers locally grown specialty cut flowers.

Baked goods change often, and the best seller of the day “depends on the smell of the bakery right now,” said Monica Beaudoin — it could be pumpkin bread or cinnamon rolls. Breakfast pastries include scones and muffins, and as the morning stretches into the afternoon, offerings tend toward dessert, such as cookies, brownies, or biscotti.

One of Bloom’s signature items are edible flower shortbread cookies, featuring seasonal flowers pressed into the dough. Flourless brownies are another popular seller, which Monica Beaudoin describes as “really chewy” — and they’re also gluten-free.

Bloom handles much of the catering, Pilon said, offering breakfast and dessert platters and custom cakes for weddings and special events.

“Monica has a really amazing artistic side that comes through in her decorating,” she said of her sister.

Bloom’s team intends to slowly expand the menu, aiming to add savorier options like breakfast sandwiches, salads and light lunch sandwiches. The bakery’s take-out checkout currently offers fruit salads and boxes of deli meats, which customers have appreciated, Pilon said.

Monica Beaudoin said she’s excited for the upcoming holiday season, with plans for a big pre-order menu for Thanksgiving and Christmas: pies, desserts and pastries for breakfast. The boutique will also offer floral arrangements for the holidays.

The sisters also plan to hold cookie decorating classes and other events at their space, they said.

Pratt Street, the scenic downtown Hartford location that’s home to several shops (and has appeared as a backdrop in a few Hallmark films) was the perfect landing spot for Bloom’s first showcase, Beaudoin and Pestle.

“We feel really lucky to be where we are right now,” Pilon said. “It’s just such a beautiful facade and such a beautiful building. This space really told us “bakery/flower shop” when we first saw it.”