Sir...This Is A Bakery

Yesterday evening, my friend Mackenzie from The Southern Rose alerted me to a post on Facebook in the “COMO: The Good, Bad, and Ugly” forum about PJP. I personally don’t belong to this group because I’m already stressed all of the time and goodness knows what sort of content one might stumble on that is hypercritical of something important to me. Like PJP.

At any rate, what the person said was: “How do people run a business that relies on customers and yet closes at 6pm. Come on Peggy Jean’s.”

Since I’m not a member of the group, I couldn’t see the comments but Mackenzie promised they were “gold”. Ellery immediately requested to join the group and by 10 am this morning, we had access to over 130 comments. And you all, I held my breath when I started to read…but, IT WAS AMAZING. People came for that guy with little tolerance for the suggestion we stay open late into the evening. And 99% comments defended the position of small business owners to also have a home life while having a business life. Reading through the comments made us feel so seen, because none of this is easy and the rush to our defense made my heart so full that I could hardly stand it. I just don’t even know what we would do without you. PJP is such a lucky girl to have so many people on her side.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the original post and just how odd it is…I mean, I needed details. Which store did he go to? And at what time? Are we talking 6:20 or 10 pm? Just how late does he think we need to stay open until? Did he want a baby pie or a nine-inch? Was this on National Pi(e) Day or a random day? And I guess who really cares because most bakeries don’t stay open well into the evening and even if they did, that doesn’t mean we have to. Since we don’t offer seating, I’ve never put significant thought into evening pie sales. And maybe this guy isn’t aware, but we start early and we stay late and last week I think Jason and I shared a streak of five 12 hour days. We aren’t complaining because that’s how this entrepreneurial gig works, but we aren’t sad about closing at 6pm because we have a family and honestly, we are tired by the end of the day.

I think I more didn’t care for the double standard. My feeling very much is that he likely doesn’t call out First Watch for closing at 2pm because there is an inherent double standard for large national chains versus small businesses. Frankly, small business deserves the same respect. Just saying.

But the comments were SO GOOD. It was worth the dumb post just to see all the PJP love. So many commented that we work hard and that we also have a home life. Also that we start early and stay busy all day, thereby achieving a balance of supply and demand. One person simply commented: “Some people just don’t deserve pie.” Another simply said: “Sir…it’s a bakery.” One of our favorites: “This is a bakery, not a nightclub.” LOVE IT.

We recognized so many names in the comments and we are honored that you believe in us enough to spend a few minutes defending our honor on the Wild Wild West of the Internet. We are so thankful for each of you. And who knows, maybe one night soon we will have a PJP After Dark party. Though, I can tell you one person that won’t be on the invite list…