Bakery focuses on bite-size treats

When we wrote last year about Chicago-based Minnies and its bite-size burgers and sandwiches, we noted the concurrent rise of dessert-only eateries. Combining the two trends, a new bakery was recently launched in Traverse City, Michigan, that offers baked goodies strictly in two-bite sizes. Morsels, which opened its brick-and-mortar doors in April (online ordering is coming soon), offers cookies, brownies, cakes, scones and other delicacies, all in two-bite sizes. At least a dozen different morsels are available each day, all featuring the same half-round shape and size–the toppings and batter used are what distinguishes them. Morsels also offers a range of direct-trade coffees and teas from Intelligentsia of Chicago, and pita sandwiches for lunch are “about a week away,” Neidorfler says. Morsels are priced at 89 cents for one, USD 2.99 for four or USD 8.49 for a dozen–mixing and matching is encouraged. The bakery has already handled orders for up to 50 dozen at one time. “My wife and I have always loved to bake, and we have had the dream of starting a bakery for a long time, but we didn’t want to be like every other bakery out there,” Neidorfler explains. “Then one day in April of 2007, we were sitting at home and the idea of really good, bite-sized baked goods hit me. Within an hour, we had the name, the initial flavour ideas, packaging ideas and the start of a business plan. After a bit of researching, we determined that this is a niche that no one was doing the way we wanted to do it. There were a number of cupcake bakeries and things like that, but nothing that really pushed the envelope of what a bite-sized bakery could be. We knew we were onto something when it became almost impossible to find the kind of baking pan we needed.” Tourists visiting the shop from far and wide have already asked Morsels to open branches in the cities they’re from, Neidorfler says. How about helping to make that happen….? Spotted by: Richard Allen