01/04/2026
Hey guys. My name is Allyson Moore and this is my little family. I own Chubby Bunny and I want to talk about the nature of owning a small business.
Now, I’m a very private person- I like to keep my personal life out of the spotlight that is the bakery- but in the last few years it’s become dishearteningly obvious that people treat small businesses like they’re these big corporations that owe them something rather than the small single family that’s usually behind them, busting our butts.
We started out as a small home bakery in 2012 making allergen safe treats that sold directly to stores and we would do a couple private orders on the side as time allowed. I had two babies during this time. I cried delivering my daughter because it was a day I was supposed to be baking for Jungle Jim’s and I was so afraid they would come down on me for the delivery not being there! (Plot twist: They were completely understanding it turned out fine) But, I came straight home from the hospital and baked all through the night with my fresh little newborn to restock those shelves. Heck, I even brought that fresh little newborn to the farmers market the next week.
As popularity grew we gradually afforded our way in 2019 into the commercial facilities we produce the products in now. As a bonus, we opened our doors to the public on Fridays & Saturdays for walk in traffic. The most common misunderstanding due to opening the storefront is that we ONLY care to work 2 days a week. The truth is- I work 6 days a week behind the scenes of this storefront, no matter what. I only get Sunday to spend with my family. To put this in prospective, when I received the call my grandfather was about to pass- I left the bakery to sit with my family at his bedside for a couple hours and once he was gone, I then returned to the bakery and prepped all evening to make up for my absence so the storefront could be open the next day. I left the storefront for a couple hours to attend the funeral and then came right back to work. Because nobody cares, right? The show must go on.
This year, my son had to get an emergency appendectomy. I made dough right up until the last minute I had to leave to make it to see him before they put him under. I was back at work the next day- never closed the bakery, never let anyone know what was happening in my life behind the scenes. Made sure everyone got their orders, all the cakes were made on time. Was I ok? No! I was worried about what an awful parent I was knowing I should be at home with my child but instead I’m a slave to this bakery I created and trying to avoid the dreaded 1 star review. Always trying not to disappoint anyone. Ever.
You see, I make every dough in this bakery- most things still need me to run. People love to simply say “Just train someone else to do it” now this is so laughable if you are a small business owner because you know how hard and honestly impossible it is to do that. I have great employees, people whom I adore, but employees can choose to move on at anytime and you are constantly trying to find new great employees to fill their shoes and it’s exhausting. And honestly, no employee wants to be or even should be trained to work like the dog that I am. Nobody cares as much about Chubby Bunny as I do- and I don’t expect them to.
Then this week, I unexpectedly (obviously) came down hard with whatever the heck Frankenstein-flu is going around these parts. I fell so hard that I knew there was no way to make the show go on- and even if I did, I would risk spreading it to others. So I made the very unwise financial decision to cancel and refund thousands of dollars in orders and lose thousands not being open this weekend. Should be fine, right? When I made the timely announcement on social media I have to admit that everyone was supportive and wished us well as we recover. Thank you to those people, y’all get it and I love you for it. But then I got hate mail out of it. About how “frustrating” it was we were not open this weekend.
It’s 2026. Can we finally start treating each other as human beings again? Yeah, the inflation post Covid is tough- but the way humans treat small businesses owners is worst part of having one. If I ever closed this bakery it wouldn’t be because of finances. It would be because of the lack of empathy and understanding people show for each other.
Small business is not for the weak, I understand wholeheartedly when some announce closure. There is absolutely no work/life balance here. Lift up your small businesses. Support them. You may not always have them.
If you’ve read this far and this applies to you, we aren’t sad to lose your business. I know there are 100 better people waiting in line behind you that appreciate what we do and everything it takes to make the show go on. See you on January 9th!
